Bangladesh president dissolves parliament, frees former PM Zia

DHAKA (Reuters) -- Bangladesh's president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for the formation of an interim government, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.

A statement from President Mohammed Shahabuddin's office also said that Hasina's arch rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, had been freed from house arrest.