Sheikh Hasina plans political return to Bangladesh

Hasina has now reportedly resumed active communication with senior party leaders and grassroots level organisers.

New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in an undisclosed location in New Delhi since August last year, is now preparing for her political comeback. 
After months of remaining underground, which included halting all political activities of the Awami League due to security threats posed by the rise of radicalism in Bangladesh, and the formation of an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, Hasina has now reportedly resumed active communication with senior party leaders and grassroots level organisers. She is now set to strategise for large-scale protests in February against the ruling administration.

Hasina’s strategic re-emergence comes after nearly seven months. Sources within the Awami League told The Sunday Guardian on the condition of anonymity that since the fall of the Awami League, the party’s leadership and grassroots cadres have been in hiding, fearing persecution from radical Islamist groups and the interim administration.Several Awami League leaders, including former MPs and others close to Sheikh Hasina, fled Bangladesh and sought refuge in various countries, such as India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Australia. 
However, party sources confirmed to TSG that over the past few weeks, Hasina has started communicating with the senior cadre and grassroots leaders, including at the booth and district levels, via highly encrypted communication channels and undetectable devices.

Using these covert means, she has laid out a strategy for the comeback of Awami League.According to this plan, the party will take to the streets starting February 1 to press for the resignation of the interim government.The protests will focus on issues such as the rise in fundamentalism, systematic violence against writers and intellectuals,targeted attacks on Sufi shrines, economic collapse, lawlessness, and attacks on Awami League cadres.

A senior Awami League leader told TSG that around 50 to 60 senior party officials and former lawmakers are currently based in India due to threats to their lives. Meanwhile, many others remain scattered across different countries, coordinating the party’s activities from abroad.

Leaders who spoke to TSG from undisclosed locations confirmed that Sheikh Hasina has been holding virtual meetings from New Delhi, reconnecting with Awami League district and block presidents, as well as local-level organisers, to ensure the party remains politically active and prepared for future demonstrations.
Party leaders also expressed hope after Donald Trump’s government halted U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding to Bangladesh, citing concerns over the country’s political instability and alleged human rights violations.

However, what has raised alarms within Awami League political circles is the rise of Jamaat-e-Islamiand its increasing influence in Bangladesh’s key institutions, including the military, police, and other departments.Jamaat has historic ties to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, and these leaders fear that the ISI is playing a key role in the ongoing turbulence, while it is the ISI which is taking action on the name of Jamaat. As Bangladesh braces for potential political unrest, Sheikh Hasina’s return to active politics could mark the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s turbulent history.