Foreign News
Sheikh Hasina Lashes Out, Says Dhaka Backing Terrorists
The India-Bangladesh diplomatic space has been shaken and stirred by the ‘virtual’ press conference by ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed on Wednesday.
Both made statements finely calibrated to leverage two topical triggers: youth culture (read Gen Z, think Cockroach protest), and cross-border terrorism.
But while fragile breaks in Hasina’s audio stream indicated that emotions were running high, Wazed gazed into the webcam from a presidential-looking desk, and spoke with an obvious intention to surprise and shock both the Dhaka government of PM Tarique Rahman, and the media present at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) in New Delhi.
As always, India’s MEA had walked the tightrope magnificently. It had already dismissed the impending event as one held by a “private organization”, but hadn’t prevented it from being held (at the FCC’s government-owned premises) either. Dhaka reacted fiercely.
Hasina-Sajeeb And What They Said
“The next set of terrorists globally are going to be from Bangladesh. What should concern India…is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India’s eastern side. The ISI has an open hand and Al Qaida operatives speak at public rallies”, said Wazed, a US-Bangla dual citizen from his office in Washington, D.C.
Hasina made seven references to the “peaceful student movement” in Bangladesh, which turned violent at the hands of “organized groups” and eventually ousted her in August 2024. She then warned darkly that the “crisis” under the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was not merely a passing cloud, but an impending storm for the entire Indian Ocean region.
“It affects regional peace, security. A stable Bangladesh matters for South Asia and for all countries that believe in democracy, rule of law and justice,” said the former prime minister.
What Trump Wants
But the Trump administration seems profoundly unbothered. Covert Pakistani logistical and military support to terror outfits to launch attacks on India or other countries, isn’t giving Donald J. Trump any sleepless nights. To the US President, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir are simply “very extraordinary men” who offer “kind and very competent leadership”.
US envoy Sergio Gor has wrapped up a three-day trip to Dhaka where talks focused on energy, semiconductors, and AI. As for human rights, Gor did a quick pass through a Rohingya refugee camp and urged the rest of the world to contribute more.
Washington’s past frustration at not gaining access to the strategic St. Martin’s island during Hasina’s rule is yesterday’s news. The US blueprint to keep both Myanmar and China at bay seems to be falling into place.
A US-Bangladesh trade agreement will “provide unprecedented access to each others’ respective markets”. Bangladesh has been marked “stable”, travel warnings have been lowered, and the US military footprint is growing via frequent joint exercises.
Wazed shrugged off the Trump-Tarique honeymoon, arguing that “The current US administration focuses on trade, no matter what, not on democracy and human rights. But since the US is a democratic country, policies change when a government changes. The US has close relations with Pakistan now. But didn’t a few years ago. So all this can change very quickly.”
He then urged the Indian media to highlight the “gross violation of human rights and freedom of speech” under the present government in Dhaka.
Way Forward?
It’s not clear what Hasina achieved with the presser, other than boosting the morale of her party. Her return to Bangladesh slated for December is far from certain, unless she strikes a deal with Tarique Rahman on her safety.
Given the traditionally high level of animosity between Hasina’s Awami League (AL) and Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), that seems highly unlikely.
There is a school of thought -including in India – that feels Rahman could use ground level support from the AL, the country’s oldest organization with enormous outreach, to control unruly fringe elements of the Islamist fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JeL), his party’s erstwhile coalition supporters. And kill another bird with the same stone by restoring the impression of a ‘multi-party democracy’.
Others dismiss that idea by pointing to the dominant independent mandate (2/3 majority) the BNP won – albeit undemocratically – in February this year. It is because Tarique Rahman wants to occupy the centrist, minority-friendly space left behind by the AL and assimilate its ‘secular’ voters, they say, that he pushed the JeL into the opposition, rather than liaising with it again.
