Hasina slams Yunus' interim govt for 'atrocities', vows to return for justice

Dhaka: Vowing to return to her homeland and ensure justice for the victims of the Yunus govt's "atrocities", deposed PM Sheikh Hasina, currently residing in India, accused chief adviser Muhammad Yunus of turning Bangladesh into a hub of terrorism and lawlessness, while urging the people to "save Bangladesh from the repressive and militant Yunus government".

In one of the audio messages shared on Awami League's verified Facebook page, "I will return. The killers (of her party supporters) will face justice in Bangladesh. Their reckoning will happen on Bangladeshi soil. Perhaps that's why Allah has kept me alive."

Accusing Yunus of remaining silent as "dozens of police officers" were killed last year during the student-led riots against her quota reforms and allowing lawlessness to take over, Hasina said, "Yunus has no experience of running a govt. He dissolved all inquiry committees and unleashed terrorists to butcher people. They are destroying Bangladesh. We will out this govt of terrorists." Hasina described the "illegal" Yunus-led govt's failure to ensure public safety over the past six months. She accused the administration of killing her party supporters and police personnel while also scrapping the passports of some of the people who played key roles in UN peacekeeping missions. She also alleged that the interim govt was violating the country's laws and constitution, expressing hope that Bangladesh would regain its global standing through public resistance.

Criticising the govt's handling of the economy and security, Hasina said, "More than six months have passed, yet mob violence continues. Now I hear he will launch 'Operation Devil Hunt'. He is unable to run the country. The economy is in crisis, law and order is deteriorating, and public safety is at risk."

She interacted online with widows of policemen killed in recent protests, describing their deaths as part of a broader effort to destabilise the country. "It is part of the same design that led to the demolition of the Bangabandhu Memorial at Dhanmondi," she said.