New Delhi: Mohammad Taijul Islam, the chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal, has revealed with details about the night before the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Bangladesh military officials asked Hasina to step down from the country’s top post. However, the Awami League President showed defiance.
“You shoot me and bury me here, in Ganabhaban,” she reportedly said when she was asked to resign. Taijul Islam made the revelations during a hearing, as reported by Bangladesh newspaper Prothom Alo (Bengali language newspaper circulated in Bangladesh and published from Dhaka).
Islam provided details into what happened between the midnight of August 4 and 5 in 2024, the most dramatic part of Hasina’s political career.
On the night of August 4, 2024, a highly tensed and volatile meeting took place at Ganabhaban, which is the official residence of the Bangladesh Prime Minister.
Many prominent figures, involving ministers of ruling party and top military officials, attended the meeting, which witnessed some intense discussions.
Around 12:15am on the midnight of August 5, Bangladesh’s then defence adviser Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, hinted at the PM to step down from the post. This enraged Hasina as she didn’t wanted to give up the power.
Instead, she asked the army chief to confront the demonstrators, to which, Tarique Ahmed Siddique suggested firing at the protestors to crush the rebels. Even the plan of shooting from choppers was put on the table.
However, the suggestion didn’t go well with the Air Force chief, who told Hasina, “He (Tarique) has sunk you, and he will sink you again.”
In the meeting of the following morning, Hasina was informed that the situation had exacerbated at that point and the forces didn’t have enough ammunition to face the large number of protestors.
The officers made multiple attempts to convince Hasina to step down from the PM post to prevent further blood shed as the protestors were marching toward Ganabhaban. An effort from Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehanna, was also seen in convincing her. According to Taijul Islam, Rehanna also held Hasina’s feet to make a sincere request, but to no avail.
It was only when Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed convinced her mother to resign from the position of Bangladesh PM, that’s when she agreed.
