Sheikh Hasina will not return to Bangladesh politics, confirms son Sajeeb Wazed Joy

Hasina, who had been the prime minister of Bangladesh for 15 years, departed for London amid escalating protests against her government. Joy stated that Hasina had been contemplating resignation since Sunday and decided to leave due to safety concerns following her family’s strong advice.

Joy expressed his mother’s profound disappointment, highlighting the contrast between her achievements and the current unrest. “She has turned Bangladesh around,” Joy said while speaking to BBC. “When she assumed power, the country was struggling, but it is now seen as one of Asia’s rising tigers. Her disappointment is immense,” he added.

Rejecting allegations that the government had been heavy-handed in dealing with protesters, Joy said, “You’ve had policemen beaten to death – 13 just yesterday. So what do you expect the police to do when mobs are beating people to death?”

Hasina, on Monday resigned as the prime minister and left Bangladesh along with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana. She landed at Hindon air base in the outskirts of Delhi, even as thousands of protesters ransacked her home in Dhaka, carrying away things.

The chief of the Bangladesh Army, General Waker-uz-Zaman, appealed for peace and calm in a televised address to the nation and announced that an interim government will take the reins of the South Asian nation. Ahead of his address, General Waker held a meeting at the military headquarters, which was attended by all major opposition parties in Bangladesh, along with some “intellectuals”.

(With PTI inputs)