Amid rumors of a coup in Bangladesh’s political landscape, a book has stirred a political storm. The book claims that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was betrayed and ousted from power by her relative and current Army Chief, General Walker-uz-Zaman, “at the behest of the CIA.”
This revelation is contained in the book “Inshallah Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution,” written by Deep Haldar, Jaydeep Mazumdar, and Sahidul Hasan Khokon and published by Juggernaut Publishers. The book, quoting former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, claims that Sheikh Hasina’s coup was “a perfect CIA plan.”
The book quotes Asaduzzaman as saying, “We were unaware that the CIA had trapped Walker. Our intelligence agencies failed to alert Hasina that the Army Chief had conspired against her.” He also stated that the US’s goal was to weaken strong leaders in South Asia—Modi, Xi Jinping, and Hasina—to protect American interests. The book makes another startling claim: the geopolitical importance of St. Martin Island was a major factor in this conspiracy. This island, located in the Bay of Bengal near the Myanmar border, is considered strategically important.
Before losing power, Hasina had alleged that her government could survive if she handed over the island to the US, but this would compromise the country’s sovereignty.
According to the report, the book states that General Walker had joined forces with radical organizations and Jamaat-e-Islami against Hasina. Asaduzzaman stated that just as Abhimanyu was surrounded and killed by his own people in the Mahabharata, Walker formed an alliance with Islamic forces to overthrow Hasina. According to the authors, this conversation took place in a Delhi hotel, where two former Awami League MPs were also present.
The book states that Walker-uz-Zaman assumed the position of Army Chief in June 2024 and forced Hasina to leave the country on August 5th. According to the former Home Minister, this was the General’s “first secret mission”: to overthrow the very leader who had appointed him Army Chief. Furthermore, the book comes at a time when controversy has deepened regarding the role of the military in Bangladesh. On October 11, media reports emerged that the military had detained 15 officers involved in the disappearances of opposition figures during Hasina’s rule. Walker was forced to cancel his visit to Saudi Arabia due to growing discontent.
The book quotes Khan as saying that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, had long been working with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Some ISI-trained individuals had infiltrated Jamaat ranks, playing a key role in the killing of policemen in the last week of June. When the situation began to deteriorate, Khan, as Home Minister, was informed by police officials that ISI personnel had joined the student protesters. He immediately approached Prime Minister Hasina, but was told that the Army Chief had assured him that he would handle the situation. Even the Army Chief, who is a relative of Hasina, stated in the Prime Minister’s presence that the Army would control the situation.
Recalling that meeting, Khan said he had told PM Hasina that police would be deployed at every entry point to Dhaka to prevent any outside crowds from entering the city. Walker then said that the public had lost trust in the police and that the army should now stop the protesters. He further said that he had offered to have his police personnel guard the Ganabhaban, but Walker said there was no need for that; the army would ensure that no one got close to the PM’s residence. Hasina trusted Walker that evening… and what happened the next day is well known.
