Bangladeshs President Shahabuddin, 76, resigns citing health concerns

DHAKA – Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has ​resigned citing serious health issues, his office said ‌on Friday.Shahabuddin, 76, has held the largely ceremonial post of president since April 2023, a period that included volatile months after Hasina’s ​flight to India following a student-led uprising against ​her rule in 2024.“Recent medical examinations have diagnosed ⁠me with a condition known as Autonomic Neuropathy.Due ​to this condition, I occasionally experience momentary loss of consciousness,” ​Shahabuddin said in a statement released by his press secretary.The resignation of Shahabuddin would leave Hasina with no allies in high ​office five months before her planned return. Her Awami League ​party is banned, and many of its leaders and activists have ‌been ⁠jailed or gone into hiding since a deadly student-led uprising toppled her government in 2024.The speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament, will perform the duties of ​the president ​until a ⁠new one is elected, the statement said.As head of state, Shahabuddin is commander-in-chief of ​the armed forces, but executive power rests ​with ⁠the prime minister and cabinet of the mainly Muslim country of 173 million people.Reuters reported on Thursday that Shahabuddin, a ⁠former ​ally of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, would ​resign on Friday....