Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Sheikh Hasina Vows Bangladesh Return Despite Jail Threat
Sheikh Hasina used to be the leader of Bangladesh, a country in South Asia.
Two years ago, many students protested, and she had to leave the country and stay in India.
Now, on August 5, 2026, she talked to people through a video call from India and said she wants to go home.
She knows that going back might mean going to jail, or even worse.
Some leaders in Bangladesh are upset because they say she should not make speeches from another country.
The courts in Bangladesh already found her guilty of things while she was not there to defend herself.
Many of her political friends have been arrested or had to leave, and her party was not allowed to run in the last election.
The new leader of Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman, took charge in February 2026, and the country is struggling with electricity shortages, safety problems, and fewer jobs.
India and Bangladesh used to be close friends, but now they are not getting along as well.
Many people worry that if Sheikh Hasina returns, there will be more protests and trouble.
On August 5, 2026 — exactly two years after her ouster — Sheikh Hasina held a virtual press conference from India and declared she will return to Bangladesh despite the prospect of imprisonment or worse.
Hasina has already been tried in absentia and found guilty, and a veteran Bangladesh watcher says she will certainly be jailed and face a fresh trial if she returns.
Bangladesh's foreign ministry issued a strongly worded protest, describing Hasina's address as political activity conducted from Indian soil.
The Awami League was barred from the last election and weakened by arrests and exile, while Jamaat-e-Islami won about 70-odd seats; the party remains a potent, largely loyal force.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, in power since his February 2026 election, remains in control, but Bangladesh faces poor law and order, gas and electricity shortages, and strained ties with India.
- Who
- Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister of Bangladesh now based in India, and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, whose government protested her virtual address.
- What
- Hasina held a virtual press conference from India declaring she will return to Bangladesh despite the risk of imprisonment or worse; Bangladesh's foreign ministry protested her political activity from Indian soil.
- When
- Wednesday, August 5, 2026 — exactly two years after her ouster from power.
- Where
- A virtual press conference held from India concerning the political situation in Bangladesh.
- Why
- To signal to Awami League cadres that she has not abandoned them and to mobilise the party's rank and file; her planned return comes as Bangladesh faces political turbulence and strained India-Bangladesh ties.
Hasina's camp and India
Bangladesh government and student leaders
Hasina's return to Bangladesh
Hasina's camp and India
Hasina says she intends to return and is prepared to be jailed or worse, hoping to show Awami League cadres she has not abandoned them and to mobilise the party; some hope any fresh trial will afford her a fair chance to defend herself.
Bangladesh government and student leaders
Hasina has already been tried in absentia and found guilty; student leaders hold her responsible for deaths during the student movement, Jamaat will demand her head, protesters have demanded the demolition of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's home, and some imagine any outcry over her hanging would be shortlived, as with Bhutto in 1979.
Political activity from Indian soil
Hasina's camp and India
India allowed Hasina to address the media from Indian soil, and the Indian government has taken outreach steps — Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and the Lok Sabha Speaker visited Bangladesh after Khaleda Zia's death, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh signed the condolence book.
Bangladesh government and student leaders
Bangladesh's foreign ministry issued a strongly worded protest against what it views as political activity conducted from Indian soil, and many Bangladeshis accuse India of supporting Hasina despite alleged wrongdoings during her rule, leaving India's image in Bangladesh poor.
India-Bangladesh relations under Tarique Rahman
Hasina's camp and India
India considers its relationship with Bangladesh, a neighbour that it surrounds on all sides except Myanmar, very important and is exasperated that Tarique Rahman has not even granted an interview to the new Indian high commissioner; it also wants to push back illegal Bangladeshi migrants from West Bengal and Assam, whose chief ministers say Bangladeshis are not welcome.
Bangladesh government and student leaders
No Bangladeshi leader can appear friendly with a country perceived as unfriendly by his own people, and Dhaka is seen as tilting toward China — signing an agreement to develop Mongla port, introducing Mandarin into education and planning Chinese cultural centres — while Pakistan is perceived to have influence in the establishment.
- Former prime minister of Bangladesh
- Sheikh Hasina
- Press conference
- Virtual address held from India on August 5, 2026
- Anniversary of ouster
- Exactly two years after August 5, 2024
- Current prime minister
- Tarique Rahman, elected in February 2026
- Hasina's legal status
- Tried in absentia and found guilty
- Awami League status
- Barred from the last election; weakened by arrests and exile
- Jamaat-e-Islami's result
- Won about 70-odd seats in the last election
- Diplomatic fallout
- Bangladesh's foreign ministry protested Hasina's political activity from Indian soil, casting doubt on Tarique Rahman's possible BRICS Summit visit to India