"Why delay three more months?": Tarique Rahman's Adviser questions Hasina's December return decision

Responding to a question on Hasina's announcement that she would return to Bangladesh by December, Alal asked why she was waiting for three more months and said the country's people, judiciary and administration should decide her future.

"Why by December? If she is determined, she should come now. Now is only August. September, October, November... why delay for three months more? She should come now. Then, the Bangladeshi people and Bangladeshi system will face her. Bangladeshi system and Bangladeshi judiciary, Bangladesh administration, and Bangladeshi people's opinion will decide whether she will be welcomed or whether she will go to jail," Alal said.

This comes as former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signalled a dramatic turn in regional politics, announcing her decision to return to her homeland in December on Wednesday.

She asserted that she is prepared to face any consequences, including arrest, imprisonment, or threats to her life upon her return.

Addressing her first press briefing virtually since her ouster from Bangladesh after a student-led uprising in August 2024, Hasina emphasised that she could not remain abroad while her supporters and countrymen continued to face hardship.

"Whatever fate awaits me, I will return to my people. I cannot stay away while my beloved countrymen are suffering... I want to go back in December," she said.

Last year in December, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) delivered its verdict, sentencing Hasina and the country's former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case related to crimes against humanity during 2024 July-August unrest, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, a state witness, received a five-year prison term.

Following the ruling, Dhaka urged India to hand over both convicted individuals without delay.

Alal also criticised remarks made by Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, who said that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan in India's eastern front, stating that the remarks were offensive and amounted to interference in Bangladesh's sovereignty.

"Even the son of Sheikh Hasina said that the Eastern wing of India now became Pakistan--which he means Bangladesh. This is very much offensive and anti-state activity. So, we condemned it seriously," he said.

On Wednesday, prior to Hasina's address, Sajeeb Wazed said that "Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern front" and raised concerns over the role of foreign intelligence agencies in Bangladesh.

Wazed also questioned the death toll reported in connection with the July-August 2024 protests in Bangladesh, pointing to differences between figures cited by the United Nations and those cited by the interim administration headed by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

Alal further emphasised Bangladesh's sovereignty, stating that the country had undergone political changes and was no longer the same as it was before August 5, 2024.

"Bangladesh is not like the 5th of August of 2024 before Bangladesh. This Bangladesh is a new Bangladesh, a democratic Bangladesh, a people's representative-guided Bangladesh," he said.

He further asserted that Bangladesh would maintain an independent foreign policy and rejected any external interference in the country's domestic affairs.

"Bangladesh's sovereignty, Bangladesh's foreign diplomacy, and Bangladesh's internal affairs are absolutely Bangladesh's property. Bangladesh will never be a client state again. This message is straight to India and to all other countries of this world: that we are sovereign, we have our special and national identity, and we should also not interfere in any other neighbouring country or other countries' internal affairs," he added. (ANI)