07 august 2024 : The son of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has voiced his apprehension regarding the assaults on leaders of his mother’s political party and on minority groups within the nation, which is currently experiencing significant political unrest. Following Sheikh Hasina’s departure from the country, the bodies of twenty Awami League leaders have been discovered throughout Bangladesh, a situation that arose after violent demonstrations by students demanding job quotas for the children of freedom fighters. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Sajeeb Wazed Joy stated, “All our MPs and ministers’ residences have been set ablaze. I will seek assistance from the Indian government to ensure their protection
- This situation cannot be classified as a political movement. If it were indeed a political movement, one must question the rationale behind the violence and killings, he stated.
Various rights organizations and community leaders have reported that numerous Hindu temples, businesses, and other establishments in Bangladesh have been subjected to vandalism by aggressive mobs following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Mr. Joy remarked, “During the previous tenure of Jamaat-e-Islami, there were frequent assaults on minority groups. Such attacks have resumed, characterized by burning, looting, and the killing of individuals, alongside the desecration of temples and governmental institutions. The visuals being presented are not those of peaceful demonstrators; they depict a violent mob.”
When inquired about the future of Bangladesh, Sajeeb Wazed Joy expressed concern that the nation risks descending into a state akin to Syria. “Initially, I considered comparing it to Pakistan, but it increasingly resembles Syria.”
He further stated, “The citizens of Bangladesh have determined their own future. They will have to contend with the consequences. The outlook appears grim, with economic progress likely to stagnate and militancy persisting.”
Following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s Nobel laureate in microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, has been appointed as the leader of the military-supported interim government.
Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, reportedly received a 45-minute ultimatum to resign from her position as Prime Minister on Monday.
After her resignation, Ms. Hasina departed from the capital, Dhaka, aboard a military aircraft bound for India. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar indicated that the government is allowing time for Sheikh Hasina to “recover” and to communicate her subsequent plans. “She made a request for immediate approval to travel to India. We also received a request for flight clearance from Bangladeshi authorities,” he noted.
Earlier reports suggested that she intended to seek asylum in London, although her son, Sajeeb Wazed, has dismissed such claims.
In response to various reports regarding the UK’s “silence” on her asylum request and the revocation of her visa by the United States, Mr. Joy commented, “The reports concerning her request are unfounded.”