Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Sheikh Hasina Plans Bangladesh Return, Citing Democratic Responsibility
Sheikh Hasina is a former prime minister of Bangladesh who is currently outside the country.
She says she wants to return in December, although she has not announced the exact details.
She says Bangladesh is facing problems with democracy, the economy, law and order, and minority safety.
Hasina says she wants to help people who support her political party, the Awami League.
She also says returning could be dangerous because she has faced attacks before.
While away, she reads news and studies books written by her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
She says those books remind her why Bangladesh was created.
Hasina blames the 2024 political upheaval on groups that turned student protests into violent regime change.
These accounts are claims made by Hasina in the interview and are not independently assessed in the article.
Sheikh Hasina says she plans to return to Bangladesh in December, but has not confirmed a date, time, or entry point.
She describes her return as an effort to restore democracy and represent Awami League supporters, not merely a personal comeback.
Hasina says she faces serious security risks, citing past assassination attempts and violence against political supporters.
While in India, she follows Bangladeshi affairs and reads her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s unfinished memoir and prison diaries.
She blames the August 2024 upheaval on a coordinated operation that exploited student protests, while accusing Muhammad Yunus’s administration of political repression and institutional damage.
- Who
- Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, speaking to WION journalist Sidhant Sibal.
- What
- Hasina discussed her possible December return to Bangladesh, her time in India, her political goals, security concerns, and views on the 2024 upheaval.
- When
- She says she plans to return in December, but no specific date has been confirmed. The interview also discusses events in July and August 2024.
- Where
- Hasina is currently in India and is considering returning to Bangladesh; she also discussed Delhi’s Nizamuddin Dargah.
- Why
- She says she has a responsibility to Bangladesh and to millions of Awami League supporters whose political voice has been restricted.
Sheikh Hasina’s account
Other perspectives not provided in the interview
Nature of the August 2024 upheaval
Sheikh Hasina’s account
Hasina says a student movement over quotas was hijacked by political, radical, and militant forces as part of a coordinated effort to overthrow her government.
Other perspectives not provided in the interview
The article does not include a response from the interim government, student protesters, opposition groups, or independent investigators to assess or contest this account.
Awami League’s political support
Sheikh Hasina’s account
Hasina says the Awami League remains Bangladesh’s strongest political force and would win an overwhelming majority in a free, fair, and inclusive election.
Other perspectives not provided in the interview
The article provides no independent polling, election result, or opposing-party response to substantiate or challenge that prediction.
Muhammad Yunus’s administration
Sheikh Hasina’s account
Hasina accuses Muhammad Yunus’s administration of political revenge, weakening institutions, restricting media freedom, and allowing extremism and communal politics to expand.
Other perspectives not provided in the interview
The article does not include Muhammad Yunus’s response or evidence independently evaluating these allegations.
- Planned return
- Hasina says she intends to return to Bangladesh in December, but has not specified when or how.
- Political objective
- She frames the return as part of a struggle to restore democracy, constitutional government, and free elections.
- Books she reads
- Bangabandhur Osomapto Attojiboni and Karagarer Rojnamcha, writings associated with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
- Security concerns
- Hasina says there have been at least 19 attempts on her life and cites the 21 August 2004 grenade attack.
- 2004 attack
- She says 24 people were killed, more than 300 were injured, and she lost hearing in one ear.
- Economic claims
- Hasina says Bangladesh’s economy grew from about 70 billion dollars to about 450 billion dollars during her years in government.
- 2024 inquiry
- She says her government formed a judicial inquiry commission on 18 July 2024 and expanded it to three members on 1 August.