New Delhi: Two days after former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina resigned amidst student protests and fled the country, interim leader Muhammad Yunus issued a statement to the people of Bangladesh today (August 7) as he prepared to become the country's temporary leader.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said today, according to Daily Star, that the interim government will be sworn in tomorrow.

"I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence," the Nobel laureate and micro-finance pioneer said.

"Be calm and get ready to build the country. If we take the path of violence everything will be destroyed," Yunus added, urging his fellow citizens “not to let this slip away because of our mistakes”.

He also congratulated “the brave students who took the lead in making our Second Victory Day possible” and “the people for giving your total support to them”.

Yunus, 84, is expected to return to Dhaka from Europe tomorrow.

Soon after Hasina's resignation on Monday, Yunus in an interview to NDTV cautioned against letting the celebratory mood in his country take a turn for the worse.

“If you destabilise Bangladesh, it will spill over all around Bangladesh, including Myanmar and seven sisters in West Bengal everywhere [sic],” he told NDTV, referring to the seven states in India's northeast.

“It will be a volcanic eruption everywhere around us and in Myanmar … and it would be a bigger problem because a million Rohingyas are in here,” he added in a reference to the persecuted group that has sought shelter in Bangladesh.

Zia speaks against revenge politics

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, a longtime rival of Hasina who has also been accused of authoritarianism, spoke via videolink after being released from house arrest. She urged the country to "uphold democracy, not revenge politics."

Tarique Rahman, acting president of the former opposition Bangladesh National Party who is living in exile in London, called on the country's temporary leaders to hold free elections as soon as possible.

He also called for people to "resist taking the law into your own hands" after reports of mob violence.

Bangladesh's economy slowly got back into gear on Wednesday after days of violent unrest and military-imposed curfews.

The country's garment factories, which account for 90% of its exports, reopened the doors to their workers.

With inputs from DW.

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