Bangladesh interim govt expected to be sworn in on Thursday

• Trying to hold oath-taking ceremony tomorrow, says army chief.
• Yunus set to lead a caretaker government after Hasina ouster.
• "Be calm, get ready to build country," says Nobel laureate Yunus.

DHAKA: Bangladesh army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said Wednesday that a new interim government was likely to be sworn in on Thursday evening after Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus returned to the country.

"We are trying our best to hold the oath-taking ceremony tomorrow," the general said in a televised briefing. "We might do it at around 8:00pm (1400GMT). Around 400 hundred people will likely be present."

Yunus will lead Bangladesh through a "democratic process" when he arrives in the country to helm an interim government, army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said Wednesday.

"He is very eager to do this," the general said in a televised address to the nation. "I am certain that he will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process and that we will benefit from this."

Yunus, who is set to lead a caretaker government after mass protests ousted the premier, called on compatriots Wednesday to be "ready to build the country", ahead of his hugely anticipated return.

The Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer will head the interim government after longtime and autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, the presidency has said.

"Be calm and get ready to build the country," Yunus said Wednesday in a statement, a day ahead of his expected arrival home from France, urging calm after weeks of violence in which at least 455 people were killed.

"If we take the path of violence everything will be destroyed," he added.

The appointment came quickly after student leaders called on the 84-year-old Yunus — credited with lifting millions out of poverty in the South Asian country — to lead.

The decision was made in a meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, the heads of the army, navy and air force, and student leaders, the president's office said in a statement.

Yunus will have the title of chief adviser, according to Nahid Islam, one of the leaders of Students Against Discrimination who participated in the meeting.