‘Will Return to Deliver Justice’: Sheikh Hasina, 78, Slams Betrayal of People After Ouster from Bangladesh

Exiled Bangladesh Leader Sheikh Hasina Vows to ‘Return and Deliver Justice,’ Blames Muhammad Yunus, US for Her Ouster.

Living in secrecy since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has broken her silence, vowing to return to her country to “deliver justice.” In excerpts from a forthcoming book, Inshallah Bangladesh: The Story of an Unfinished Revolution by Deep Halder, Jaideep Mazumdar, and Sahidul Hasan Khokon (Juggernaut), Hasina accused Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and the United States of conspiring to remove her from power.

“Inshallah, I shall return. I will deliver justice to my people and bring to book those who betrayed my nation,” the 78-year-old former premier declared, blaming “imposters” and “terror apologists” for the student uprising that forced her out.

In one of her strongest remarks yet, Hasina claimed, “You know who is the main man behind all of this? It is Yunus.” She alleged that the U.S. sought control of St Martin’s Island, a small but strategic territory near the Bay of Bengal. “The Americans wanted St Martin’s Island from me. If I had agreed, they would not have removed me from power. But I did not agree to sell my country,” she said, further alleging that Yunus “plotted, financed, and executed” the unrest in Bangladesh “at the behest of the Americans.”

Hasina also dismissed the 2024 student movement that toppled her as anything but a popular uprising. “Don’t call it a revolution! It was a terror attack on Bangladesh disguised as a student revolt planned by America and executed by Pakistan,” she said.

The book also cites former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who alleged that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, infiltrated the protests to escalate violence and discredit the police.