Hasina Accuses Anti-Awami League Forces of Seeking to Turn Bangladesh Into Pakistan Again
Former Bangladesh PM says country has entered a period of insecurity and anarchy; pledges to return and pursue Mujibur Rahman’s “unfinished dream”
DHAKA— Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday accused anti-Awami League and anti-Bangladesh forces of pursuing what she described as a “grand project to turn Bangladesh into Pakistan once again,” as the country observed National Mourning Day.
In a statement shared by the Awami League on X, Hasina alleged that Bangladesh had descended into widespread anarchy following the political upheaval of July 2024, with Awami League supporters, minorities and women facing insecurity.
August 15 is observed in Bangladesh as National Mourning Day in memory of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, regarded by the Awami League as the Father of the Nation. Mujibur Rahman was assassinated on August 15, 1975, along with several members of his family.
Recalling the assassination, Hasina alleged that a group of military officers carried out the killing with direct and indirect support from pro-Pakistan forces.
“August 15 is a day of profound pain and mourning for the Bengali nation. On this day in 1975, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated along with most of his family members. At a time when the war-ravaged new state was being rebuilt amid thousands of challenges, a group of military officers, with the direct and indirect support of pro-Pakistan forces, carried out the assassination,” said Hasina.
She alleged that the assassination was connected to efforts to reverse the political and cultural direction Bangladesh had taken following its 1971 Liberation War.
“In effect, the military establishment, acting as a representative of the Pakistani establishment, sought to avenge Pakistan’s defeat in 1971 by leading this assassination. The subsequent twenty-one years of history became a history of attempts to turn Bangladesh politically and culturally into Pakistan,” she added.
Hasina said periods of Awami League rule had slowed what she described as the resurgence of Pakistan-oriented politics, but argued that the process resumed after 2001.
She pointed to the Awami League’s 15 years in power from 2009 to 2024 as a period during which her government sought to move Bangladesh away from what she called the “Pakistani trajectory” and toward the ideals of the Liberation War and economic development.
“From 2009 to 2024, for a total of 15 years, the Awami League sought to take the country on a U-turn away from the Pakistani trajectory and return it to the path of the Liberation War and prosperity. Over those 15 years, Bangladesh became an extraordinary story of growth in the eyes of the world. But conspirators were being prepared throughout those 15 years,” said the former Prime Minister.
Referring to the July 2024 protests and the subsequent political upheaval, Hasina said her government was removed from power following what she described as “massive bloodshed and loss of life.”
She alleged that anti-Awami League and anti-Bangladesh forces subsequently joined what she called a “grand project to turn Bangladesh into Pakistan once again.”
“The result is that the country has been plunged into the darkness of widespread anarchy. The footsteps of famine are being heard in the economy. Poor people are spending their days hungry or half-fed. For Awami League supporters, minorities, and women, Bangladesh has become a country of constant fear and insecurity,” Hasina said.
In her concluding remarks, Hasina pledged to return to Bangladesh and said she intended to fulfil the responsibility she believes was entrusted to her to change the fate of the country’s people and realise what she described as the “unfinished dream” of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. (Source: IANS)
