Sajid Wazed Joy, son of Sheikh Hasina, who has fled Bangladesh after resigning from the post of Prime Minister, said on Thursday that she will return to the country as soon as democracy is restored. He blamed Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI for promoting the ongoing unrest in the country.
In an interview with PTI, Mr Joy said though 76-year-old Sheikh Hasina will return to Bangladesh, it is yet to be decided whether she will come back as a “retired or active” politician.
He also said that members of Sheikh Mujib’s (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) family would neither abandon their people nor leave the beleaguered Awami League in trouble.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for the safety of his mother and appealed to India to help build international public opinion and exert pressure to restore democracy in Bangladesh.
“Yes, it is true that I said she will not return to Bangladesh. But a lot has changed in the last two days after the continuous attacks on our leaders and party workers across the country. Now we will do whatever it takes to keep our people safe; we will not leave them alone.”
“The Awami League is the largest and oldest political party in Bangladesh, so we cannot go away from our people. She will definitely return to Bangladesh after democracy is restored,” she told PTI over the phone.
Describing the Awami League as “India’s evergreen ally”, he said India should ensure the safety of Awami League leaders in Bangladesh by building international pressure.
Mr Joy urged the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to restore law and order, saying “the country is turning into a state of anarchy and is becoming another Afghanistan in the region.” He said he also hoped the interim government would provide a level playing field whenever democracy is restored and fresh elections are held.
“You cannot exclude the Awami League and never have a representative democracy in Bangladesh. Whatever his (Mohammad Yunus’) personal views, he has said he wants a unity government and wants to move forward and not let the mistakes of the past dictate the future. I hope he will stick to his word,” he said.
Professor Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on Thursday and was administered the oath of office by President Mohammad Shahabuddin at a ceremony in Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country after violent protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs. She arrived at Hindon Air Base near Delhi on Monday in a Bangladesh military plane.
Mr Joy said either the Awami League or the BNP would come to power after democracy was restored and “the Mujib family and Sheikh Hasina will continue to exist.” “She has been in touch with all our party leaders for the past two days. My mother was going to retire soon, so we thought now that she is gone, they (rioters) will leave our party men alone, but that did not happen. Instead, they started attacking,” he said.
Joy declined to comment directly on whether he and his sister Saima Wazed, currently the Southeast Asian regional director for the World Health Organisation, would enter politics, but said he would do anything to save Bangladesh from complete chaos.
“I cannot give a definite answer to this question. But I will do anything to save Bangladesh and the Awami League. The Mujib family will not leave them in trouble,” said Joy, Hasina’s former information and communication technology adviser.
Blaming Pakistan for fomenting unrest in Bangladesh, Joy said there was circumstantial evidence indicating foreign interference and alleged involvement of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
He said, “Based on circumstantial evidence I am quite convinced that Pakistan’s ISI is involved in this. The attacks and protests were very coordinated, carefully planned and deliberate efforts were made to inflame the situation through social media. No matter what the government did to control the situation, they kept trying to make it worse.”
He also pointed out that the rioters attacked the police with guns that can only be provided by terrorist organisations and foreign forces.
On reports of involvement of US intelligence agencies like the CIA, Joy said he had no proof but added, “They might be.” When asked about it, he ruled out Chinese involvement.
Terming reports of Hasina seeking asylum in Britain or any other country as “rumours”, Joy said reports of her US visa being cancelled were also untrue.
“There is no such plan (to seek asylum). Sooner or later, democracy has to be restored in Bangladesh and hopefully it will be between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League. Then Sheikh Hasina will come back.” “At this point, she wants to go back to Bangladesh. It is a question of when, not if,” he said, indicating that the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister will stay at an undisclosed location in India for the time being.
Joy, who spent most of his childhood studying in India, appealed to the Indian government to ensure early restoration of democracy for stability in the region.
He said, “I want to thank the Indian government for the safety of my mother. I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Modi. If India wants stability in its eastern region, then it will have to put pressure on the international community and come forward to ensure the quick restoration of democracy.”
Speaking on the ‘India-Out’ campaign in Bangladesh, he said, “The anti-India forces are already very active, and with the Awami League out of power, the ISI is now free to supply as many weapons as it wants to the anti-India forces.” Joy said India must act swiftly before the anti-India forces gain more ground.
He refuted claims that Ms Hasina had fled to save her life, saying the family had insisted on preventing bloodshed.
“She was not ready to leave the country. The prime minister’s security was ready to protect her till the end. But this would have resulted in the death of hundreds of protesters marching towards the prime minister’s residence. We persuaded her for the sake of Bangladesh, we cannot let her die,” he said.
He said, “Our government was not weak, but my mother did not want to harm the students. Even after she left the country, the bloodshed has not stopped. People will now understand the difference with and without Sheikh Hasina.”
The death toll in anti-government protests in Bangladesh rose to 440 on Wednesday, with the bodies of 29 more members of Hasina’s Awami League party recovered across the country by Tuesday, taking the total death toll to 469 in about three weeks since the protests began in July” Not true J: When Amit Shah helped Kiren Rijiju in Parliament
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)