‘Why by December? She should come now’: Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman’s aide challenges Sheikh Hasina
A day after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a virtual press conference, announced that she would return to the country in December despite the risk of arrest or imprisonment. PM Tarique Rahman’s camp challenged Hasina to return immediately instead of waiting until December.Rahman’s adviser Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, questioned Hasina’s decision to delay her return by several months if she was confident of facing Bangladesh’s legal and political system.“Why by December? If she is determined, she should come now. Now is only August. September, October, November… why delay for three months more? She should come now. Then, the Bangladeshi people and Bangladeshi system will face her. Bangladeshi system and Bangladeshi judiciary, Bangladesh administration, and Bangladeshi people’s opinion will decide whether she will be welcomed or whether she will go to jail,” Alal said.His remarks came after Hasina, in her first virtual press briefing since being ousted during the student-led uprising in August 2024, announced that she planned to return to Bangladesh in December despite the possible consequences.“Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering… I want to go back in December,” she said.Hasina said she was prepared to face arrest, imprisonment or even threats to her life upon returning to Bangladesh.Last December, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case related to crimes against humanity during the July-August 2024 unrest. Former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who testified as a state witness, was sentenced to five years in prison. Following the verdict, Dhaka urged India to hand over both convicted individuals without delay.Alal also criticised remarks made by Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, who said Bangladesh had become “another Pakistan on India’s eastern front.” He described the statement as offensive and an interference in Bangladesh’s sovereignty.“Even the son of Sheikh Hasina said that the Eastern wing of India now became Pakistan–which he means Bangladesh. This is very much offensive and anti-state activity. So, we condemned it seriously,” he said.Earlier on Wednesday, Wazed had said that “Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India’s eastern front” and raised concerns over the role of foreign intelligence agencies in Bangladesh.He also questioned the death toll reported during the July-August 2024 protests, pointing to differences between figures released by the United Nations and those cited by the interim administration led by then-chief adviser Muhammad Yunus.Alal further said Bangladesh had changed politically since August 5, 2024, and stressed that the country was now on a different path.“Bangladesh is not like the 5th of August of 2024 before Bangladesh. This Bangladesh is a new Bangladesh, a democratic Bangladesh, a people’s representative-guided Bangladesh,” he said.He also asserted that Bangladesh would pursue an independent foreign policy and would not tolerate interference in its domestic affairs.
