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He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and his government for protecting his mother
Kolkata:
Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajib Wazed Joy, who resigned as prime minister and fled Bangladesh, said on Thursday that he would return to the country once democracy is restored and accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI of fuelling the ongoing unrest in the country.
Speaking to PTI, Joy said that while 76-year-old Sheikh Hasina will return to Bangladesh, it has not yet been decided whether she will come back as a “retired or serving” politician.
He also insisted that members of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s family would not abandon their people or bring the embattled Awami League to its knees.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for protecting his mother and called on India to help build international opinion and exert pressure to restore democracy in Bangladesh.
“Yes, I did say she would not return to Bangladesh. But in the two days when our leaders and party members were attacked continuously across the country, a lot has changed. Now we will do everything to keep our people safe; we will not let them fight alone.”
“Awami League is the largest and oldest party in Bangladesh, so we cannot abandon our people. She will definitely come back to Bangladesh once democracy is restored,” he told PTI over phone.
Terming the Awami League as India’s “all-weather ally”, he said India must ensure the safety of Bangladesh Awami League leaders by exerting international pressure.
Mr. Joy also urged the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, to restore law and order, noting that “the country is sliding into anarchy and becoming a second Afghanistan in the region.” He also said he also wants the interim government to create a level playing field when democracy is restored and new elections are held.
“You can never exclude the Awami League and Bangladesh can never have representative democracy. Whatever his (Muhammad Yunus) personal views may be, he has said that he wants a unity government and wants to move forward and not let the mistakes of the past cloud the future. I hope he will keep his promise,” he asserted.
Professor Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government by President Mohammad Shahabuddin in Dhaka on Thursday.
Sheikh Hasina, who resigned and fled the country following violent protests against her government over a controversial job quota system, flew to Hindon Air Force Base near Delhi on Monday in a Bangladeshi military plane.
Mr Joy mentioned that once democracy is restored, the Awami League or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party will be in power while “the Mujibs and Sheikh Hasina will be in power”. “She has been in touch with all our party leaders for the past two days. My mother was going to retire soon, so we thought that since she was gone, they (thugs) would stop harassing people in our party, but that was not the case. Instead, they started attacking us,” he said.
Joy declined to comment directly on whether he and his sister Saima Wazed, now the WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, would enter politics but said he would do everything in his power to protect Bangladesh from sliding into total anarchy.
“I cannot give a definite answer to the question. But I will do whatever it takes to save Bangladesh and protect the Awami League. The Mujibs will not let them get into trouble,” said Joy, Hasina’s former ICT adviser.
Joy accused Pakistan of fuelling the unrest in Bangladesh and said there was circumstantial evidence of foreign interference and suspected involvement of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“Based on circumstantial evidence, I am very sure that I suspect Pakistan’s ISI is involved. The attacks and protests were well-coordinated and carefully planned, and there was a deliberate effort to continue to incite the situation through social media. No matter what the government does to control the situation, they keep trying to make it worse,” he said.
He also pointed out that the guns used by rioters to attack police officers could only be provided by terrorist organizations and foreign forces.
In response to reports that intelligence agencies such as the CIA were involved, Joy said he had no evidence, but added that “maybe there was.” When asked about this, he denied any Chinese involvement.
Joy denied as “rumors” reports that Hasina had sought asylum in Britain or other countries and said reports that her US visa had been revoked were also false.
“There are no plans (to seek asylum) at the moment. Bangladesh will return to democracy sooner or later and hopefully that will happen between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League. Then Sheikh Hasina will come back.” “At the moment, she wants to return to Bangladesh. It is a question of when, not if,” he said, hinting that the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister will currently be living in an undisclosed location in India.
Joy, who spent most of his childhood studying in India, called on the Indian government to restore democracy as soon as possible and maintain stability in the region.
“I want to thank the Indian government for protecting my mother. I sincerely thank Prime Minister Modi. If India wants stability in its eastern backyard, then they must put pressure on the international community and take the lead to ensure that democracy is restored quickly,” he said.
Referring to the ‘Quit India’ movement in Bangladesh, he said: “Anti-India forces are already very active and with the Awami League losing power, the ISI is now free to supply weapons to the anti-India forces at will.” Joy said India must act quickly before the anti-India forces make further progress.
He rejected suggestions that Ms. Hasina had fled to protect herself and said her family was adamant about stopping the bloodshed.
“She was unwilling to leave the country. The prime minister’s security personnel were ready to protect her till the end. But this would have led to the death of hundreds of protesters who marched to the prime minister’s residence. We convinced her that we could not let her be killed in the interest of Bangladesh,” he said.
“Our government is not weak, but my mother did not want to harm students. Even after her departure, the bloodshed has not stopped. Now people will understand the difference between with Sheikh Hasina and without Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
The death toll from anti-government protests in Bangladesh has risen to 440 as of Tuesday, with the bodies of 29 more members of Hasina’s Awami League party found across the country. The total death toll has reached 469 in the nearly three weeks since the protests began in July. “Asatya Not J: When Amit Shah helped Kiren Rijiju in Parliament
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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