Overview
- In her first extended interview since leaving Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina alleges Muhammad Yunus is an unelected figure fronting for extremists, saying radicals have been placed in the interim cabinet and minorities are being targeted.
- She cites immediate immunity for last summer’s rioters and the dissolution of a judicial inquiry as evidence the transition was planned in advance rather than a spontaneous outcome of unrest.
- Hasina says she left the country as a matter of survival, arguing her continued presence would have endangered her life and those around her.
- Rejecting claims of foreign orchestration, she says there is no reason to believe the United States or other powers backed the change in Dhaka, while contending Western admiration for Yunus is fading.
- Warning that the Awami League is being pushed off the ballot, she calls for free, fair and inclusive elections, appeals to New Delhi to maintain pressure on the interim leadership, and argues Yunus’s policies are straining ties with India and undermining regional confidence including with China.