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Following former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's dramatic virtual address announcing her planned return to Bangladesh in December, senior Awami League leader and former Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel on Wednesday asserted that the party will aggressively resume its political activities despite ongoing bans and official restrictions.
Speaking exclusively to ANI on the sidelines of a Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia (FCCSouthAsia) event in New Delhi, Nowfel emphasised that the party is well-versed in surviving political persecution. "Awami League has faced worse challenges than this. Awami League was banned by military governments in the past, during the Pakistan time and also after liberation," Nowfel stated, adding, "So Awami League is well-versed in its political manoeuvring, and you will see it in good time." Reflecting on Sheikh Hasina's declaration that she is prepared to face arrest, imprisonment, or grave danger to stand beside her countrymen, Nowfel outlined the party's immediate domestic strategy to pave the way for her homecoming: "Our leader has declared that she wants to come home. And for that we have to raise public awareness, we have to consolidate people's opinion and facilitate her return to Bangladesh in order to unite the nation, to Detailing how the party intends to operate under prohibition, he noted, "Awami League is a political party. We will continue our political programs. We will continue to raise awareness amongst the people. We will campaign, canvass, and organise our people. As a political party, we hold demonstrations; we publicise our demands to the people. So we will continue how we had been continuing over the last two years despite the prohibition, despite the ban." Addressing the future of India-Bangladesh relations, Nowfel downplayed the impact of shifting administrations, emphasising deep historical and social interdependencies. "Relationship between Bangladesh and India is beyond just governments. It is a people-to-people connection, chemistry, shared culture, shared values, shared religions. So irrespective of who is in charge in Bangladesh, the relationship with India will continue into perpetuity. We have a lot of interdependence. We have a lot of shared concerns, and we will work on them together," said Nowfel "So, whether the Prime Minister is Sheikh Hasina or whether it is Tarique Rahman, the relationship will always continue as it has been over the last however many years that we have been in existence," he added. However, echoing concerns regarding the broader geopolitical shift, Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed, issued a stern warning during the virtual event regarding the security apparatus on India's eastern border: "What should concern India most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan, on India's eastern side. You have another Pakistan today on your eastern front. Foreign Intelligence services, especially the ISI, have an open hand." "In the future, the next step of terrorists globally is going to be coming from Bangladesh, unless this is stopped now." With Sheikh Hasina standing firm on her resolve--stating, "They may kill me, put me in jail... I know I may get detained, I may be sent to prison, they may try to force politically motivated fabricated cases, but fear cannot decide my duty to the people"--the coming months promise intense political manoeuvring as the Awami League tests its resilience against the current establishment in Dhaka. (ANI)
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