On this day in July 2024, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court struck down the High Court’s earlier order to reinstate the quota system and instead ruled that 93 percent of government jobs would be filled on merit and seven percent through quotas.

For the Awami League government, the verdict briefly seemed like a way out of the crisis and to calm the streets.

However, the human cost of the crackdown was becoming impossible to ignore. At least seven people died as curfew was enforced and troops were out for a second day. Internet access remained down for a third consecutive day.

Meanwhile, evidence mounted that the state had been disappearing the students leading the protests.

A day after his abduction, Students Against Discrimination leader Nahid Islam turned up unconscious in Purbachal, with his body bearing marks of torture. Once he could speak, he told BBC Bangla that he believed he had been taken so he could not lead the ground movement.

The then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina met the chiefs of the three armed forces and the cabinet secretary to discuss the situation.

Against this backdrop, more drama unfolded.

Three coordinators of the student movement -- Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, and Hasnat Abdullah -- suspended the shutdown for 48 hours and issued an ultimatum for lifting the curfew, reopening universities and halls, restoring internet, and guaranteeing coordinators’ safety.

Hasnat called the SC verdict a step forward but said the movement had always demanded genuine reform “in every grade of government jobs”.

The pause, however, did not hold, as 59 other coordinators and assistant coordinators rejected it and vowed to continue with their nine-point demand.

Assistant coordinator Numan Ahmed Chowdhury told The Daily Star that Nahid, Sarjis, and Hasnat had been coerced into the statement while other coordinators remained missing.

Abdul Kader, another student leader who previously placed the nine-point demand, issued a press release saying that the SC judgement was unclear and “left room for confusion”.

As the standoff deepened, pressure mounted for the government from abroad. UN human rights chief Volker Turk demanded accountability and impartial investigations, calling the attacks on student protesters “shocking and unacceptable”.

He also flagged the deployment of BGB and Rab personnel and urged Dhaka to restore internet access promptly.

The EU and the UK also issued separate statements citing deep concern over the violence and calling for a peaceful resolution.