Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister who fled to India following mass protests against her government, is planning to stay in Delhi “for a little while,” her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said on Wednesday. The 76-year-old Awami League leader landed at an airbase near Delhi on Monday and later shifted to a safe location under tight security.
‘All rumours’
During a video interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Joy was asked about Hasina’s reported plans to seek asylum in a third country. “These are all rumours. She has not made a decision on that yet. She is going to stay in Delhi for a little while. My sister is with her. So she is not alone,” Joy said.
Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed is World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region, which has its headquarters in New Delhi. Hasina’s plan to travel to London has hit a roadblock following the UK’s hesitation to provide her refuge. Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq is a member of the British Parliament.
Joy, who spoke on the current volatile situation in Bangladesh, was also asked if he has any plan to join politics when he laughed it off saying: “There is no such plan right now. This is the third time a coup d’état was staged against our family.” All his family members, except Hasina, were already staying abroad for a long time and settled in their respective lives, he said and answered in negative to Sheikh Rehana and or any other family member’s chance of joining politics.
READ MORE: Bangladesh Unrest LIVE: Indian Mission In Dhaka To Remain Functional; Attacks On Hindus Strongly Condemned
Meanwhile In Bangladesh
Chaos reigned supreme in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Monday, with police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic. Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG) A K M Shahidur Rahman, who was appointed as the focal person of the Bangladesh Police on Tuesday to handle the current crisis, called on every member of the police force to resume their duties gradually and maintain public safety and law and order.
The students, including members of Bangladesh Scouts, were seen controlling the traffic movement at several places, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. “The police are friends of the people and work for the public. We cannot imagine a society without the police. Therefore, I request our police members once again to ignore rumours and return to their duties in a phased manner, ensuring that security arrangements are properly in place,” said Rahman, who has now been appointed as the Director General of RAB in a fresh reshuffle on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s protest leaders said they expect members of an interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to be finalised on Wednesday. Bangladesh’s president appointed Yunus, who was recommended by student leaders, as the head of the interim government late on Tuesday and said the remaining members need to be finalised soon to overcome the current crisis and pave way for elections.
Interim government
The interim government will fill a power vacuum left after Bangladesh’s army chief announced Hasina’s resignation in a televised address on Monday that followed weeks of deadly violence that ripped through the country, killing about 300 people and injuring thousands. “It is critical that trust in government be restored quickly,” Yunus, 84, told the Financial Times on Wednesday, adding that he was not seeking an elected role or appointment beyond the interim period.
His spokesperson said he is expected to return to Dhaka on Thursday after a medical procedure in Paris. “We need calm, we need a road map to new elections and we need to get to work to prepare for new leadership,” Yunus told the newspaper. Hasina’s resignation had triggered jubilation across the country and crowds stormed into her official residence unopposed after she fled, ending a 15-year second stint in power.
(With agency inputs)
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