Sheikh Hasina’s Last Few Minutes As Bangladesh Prime Minister: Journalist’s Note Goes Viral
A note by Dhaka Bureau chief of AFP, Shafiqul Alam, detailing the final moments of Sheikh Hasina’s tenure as Prime Minister of Bangladesh has gone viral, providing a rare glimpse into the dramatic events that led to her departure. In a Facebook post, Alam recounted the sequence of events as described by one of Hasina’s key aides.
According to Alam, at around 1.30pm, Hasina’s security team informed her that she needed to leave Ganobhaban, her heavily fortified residence in central Dhaka, without delay. Despite her desire to record a final address to the nation and pack her belongings, the security officers insisted that there was no time. She and her sister were swiftly escorted to a motorcade and driven to the Planning Commission building in Agargaon, where they arrived at about 1.45pm.
Upon arrival, Hasina was informed that a crowd had already gathered nearby, and she was advised not to linger. The security team then rushed her to the Second World War-era airport at Old Tejgaon, now used by the military for aviation purposes. There, she and her sister were taken to the airstrip and boarded an airforce helicopter, which flew them out of the country.
The post, capturing the tense and hurried nature of Hasina’s departure, quickly gained traction online, with many sharing it as a significant reminder of the swift and sudden end to her rule.
The ousting of Sheikh Hasina coincides with a period of intense political turmoil in Bangladesh. Earlier on the same day, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the immediate release of former Prime Minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia from prison. The decision came shortly after the military, led by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, took control of the government, with support from the heads of the navy and airforce, as well as leaders of opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami.
The crisis, which escalated from protests against a controversial government job quota, has led to significant unrest across the country, with reports of hundreds of deaths, mainly among protesters. The demonstrations, initially sparked by opposition to reserving government jobs for families of veterans from the 1971 war of independence, quickly evolved into widespread violence. The situation ultimately forced Hasina to resign and flee to India.
In response to the upheaval, India has heightened security along its border with Bangladesh, suspending train services and flights to the neighbouring country as the situation continues to develop.
