Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, breaking her silence for the first time since her ouster from power, has called the coup against her a “foreign terrorist plot.” She directly accused the United States and Pakistan of conspiring to oust her from power and inciting violence in the country under the guise of a student movement.
Speaking to The Print, Hasina said that the student protests of July-August were not a democratic revolution but a “terrorist attack orchestrated by the United States,” carried out with Pakistani support. She said, “Don’t call it a movement; it was an attack on Bangladesh. It was an American conspiracy to remove me from power, carried out by Pakistani forces and presented as a student uprising.” The former Prime Minister claimed that the killings for which her government was blamed were not carried out by the police but by “terrorists” to incite the public against her.
Yunus “Traitor to the Nation”
Hasina also leveled serious allegations against Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, alleging that he conspired and funded the plot at the behest of the United States. She said that the United States wanted control of the island of St. Martin, but when he refused, a plot was hatched to remove him from power. “If I had given up St. Martin, America would not have removed me. But I refused to sell my country,” Hasina said. She called Yunus a “traitor to the nation” and said that he had ruined Bangladesh for his own ambitions. Hasina also criticized Pakistan, saying that it has long supported extremist networks. This is part of a tradition of interference dating back to 1971.
Awami League in Crisis
After Hasina left the country, the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus suspended the Awami League’s activities and cancelled the party’s registration. Hasina and her party now face several legal cases, including murder charges related to the deaths of protesters. The trial against Hasina at the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka has concluded, and the prosecution has sought the death penalty. The Bangladesh Election Commission is expected to announce general elections in early December. Yunus, under pressure from the military and the opposition BNP, has promised to hold elections by February next year.
Forced to Leave the Country
Hasina was forced to leave the country on August 5, 2024, amid massive protests that killed more than 1,400 people. The movement began as a student protest against the government job quota system, but soon escalated into a demand for Hasina’s resignation. She left the country on the advice of Army Chief Waqar-uz-Zaman and has been living in a government-secured accommodation in Delhi since then.
