Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return to her country as the situation improves, her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, said on Friday.
He stated that the 76-year-old leader is focused on reviving her party, the Awami League, and asserted that it will return to power again once elections are held.
In an interview with AajTak Bangla, Wazed also clarified that Hasina has not applied for asylum in any country and intends to return to Bangladesh soon.
“There is a lot of misinformation. She has not applied for asylum anywhere, whether in the UK, the US, or Finland. She has no plans to go far from her country. She intends to return to Bangladesh soon,” Wazed emphasised.
Hasina, who resigned as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and fled the country on August 5 amid violent protests demanding her ouster, is currently in India.
Wazed mentioned that whether Hasina will retire from politics or continue will be decided after further discussion. Earlier, Wazed had indicated that Hasina would retire from politics.
“No decision regarding this has been made yet. The Awami League requires a reshuffle, and she is focusing on that,” he said.
Wazed added that Hasina is committed to reviving the party, believing in the strength of the Awami League and hoping to come back stronger.
“Yes, she was disheartened when we saw that our leaders and activists were being killed. We said that our leaders and activists could not be left like this. They have to be organised and kept safe. She firmly believes in the strength of the Awami League and hopes to bounce back stronger,” Hasina’s son said.
He also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing shelter when Hasina arrived from Dhaka at the Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad. However, Wazed said he is unaware of whether the former Bangladesh PM had any conversations with PM Modi or External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“I am not privy to that conversation if there was any. But first, I want to express my gratitude to Prime Minister Modi. With sincere gratitude, I will say my mother is safe now,” he said.
“There was no active involvement of the Indian government until our government fell, not even during the initial days of the crisis,” Wazed added.
Bangladesh was in turmoil for over a month as students launched a protest against a quota system for government jobs, which later snowballed into a massive agitation leading to Hasina’s resignation.
Commenting on the safety of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, Wazed said that Hindus would be safe if the Awami League returns to power.
“If the Awami League comes back to power, I can say for sure that Hindus will be safe. If we don’t, then I am not very sure about their future,” he said.
In his opinion, the “only solution” to the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh is an early election, and Wazeb claimed that the Awami League would return to power.
“This is the only solution, as seen in history. The only solution now is to hold elections in Bangladesh immediately so that there is a level playing field. If that happens, I am confident that the Awami League will return to power,” he said.
The protests were backed by Bangladesh’s main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), among others. The BNP is also aiming to return to power, and BNP leader and Sheikh Hasina’s arch-rival Khaleda Zia was released from jail this week.
On Thursday, Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government. He appealed for peace in the country and promised efforts to normalise the situation and hold an election at the earliest.