Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry formally condemned former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s live media interaction conducted from New Delhi on Wednesday, calling her a “convicted genocider” and accusing India of allowing her to direct “venomous vitriol” against the Bangladeshi state despite Dhaka having previously conveyed its objections to New Delhi through diplomatic channels.
The strongly worded statement came on the same day Hasina, appearing via video link at the event, formally announced her intention to return to Bangladesh in December to contest the ban imposed on her party, the Awami League. The announcement came despite Hasina facing a death sentence and approximately 600 criminal cases filed against her in Bangladesh following her ouster amid a mass uprising in August 2024.
At the same event, her son and former adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy made a series of pointed allegations about the state of Bangladesh under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. He claimed Bangladesh has effectively become “another Pakistan” on India’s border, alleging that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) now operates freely inside the country. He further alleged that hundreds of jailed militants have been released since the government changed, and that groups including Hizb ut-Tahrir and figures with alleged links to al-Qaeda have been permitted to address public rallies.
Joy also disputed the official death toll from the 2024 crackdown on protesters, criticised what he described as an “Indemnity Bill” that shields protest participants from prosecution, and alleged that extended detentions and unpunished killings of Awami League members have taken place under the current administration.
The episode is set to further strain already tense relations between Dhaka and New Delhi, with Bangladesh’s interim government growing increasingly vocal about its frustration with India’s continued hosting of Hasina on its soil.
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