Bangladesh crisis seems to have acutely deepened. This South Asian country that came into existence from the womb of another South Asian country, Pakistan, more than five decades ago descended into chaos after Hasina fled the country yesterday.

The army stepped in to fill the power vacuum. According to the army chief, however, an interim government will come into existence very soon. Not only has prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed stepped down, she has fled to India. It is said that “she is unlikely to leave India at least tonight”.

Following her resignation, Sheikh Hasina, according to Indian media reports, received an ultimatum to flee the country. After leaving Dhaka, she arrived at Hindon Air Base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, aboard a C-130 transport aircraft.

It has also been reported that she held talks with India’s notorious National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the present situation in Bangladesh and her future course of action. India’s foreign minister Jaishankar is said to have briefed prime minister Narendra Modi about the situation, particularly her presence in India. It may be noted that Narendra Modi has been maintaining very cordial relationship with Hasina Wazed whom he fondly calls “Didi (sister)”.

In my view, India is likely to throw Hasina under the bus as what the US did in the case of the then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak battling a popular uprising. It is a fact that not only was a beleaguered Hasina brutally suppressing the protests with enormous force, curfews that had surely intensified public outrage, fuelling further unrest, she was also treating the protesters with utmost contempt and ridicule.

In my view, the downfall of Hasina, who had been committing massive excesses against her political rivals in particular for several years, was expected following the phenomenal surge in students’ protest, it is highly disappointing nevertheless.

Samina Mehdi (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024