Awami League President and exiled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused Muhammad Yunus’s interim regime of actively sponsoring extremists, a move she warns is not only unravelling Bangladesh’s secular fabric but also poisoning longstanding ties with India and potentially reviving shadowy links to Pakistan-based terror networks.
In a blistering written interview with RTโpart of a series she has granted to international media since October 29โHasina, exiled in India since August last year, described Yunus’ radical alliances as a direct betrayal of the moderation her government championed, creating fertile ground for external meddling that echoes past destabilisation efforts tied to Pakistani influences.
Drawing parallels to historical patterns of interference, Hasina’s remarks align with explosive allegations from her former cabinet minister, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, who, in a separate RT exclusive, detailed a foreign-orchestrated regime change plot behind the 2024 riots.
Together, their accounts paint a picture of a nation hijacked by radicals and Western-funded chaos agents, with Yunus at the epicentre, threatening regional stability and Bangladesh’s hard-won independence from extremist shadows.
Yunus’ Extremist Sponsorship
Hasina reserved her sharpest condemnation for Yunus’ alleged coddling of radical elements, which she said has allowed extremists to infiltrate the corridors of power, undermining the very principles Bangladesh fought for in 1971.
This patronage, she argued, is not mere negligence but a deliberate strategy that endangers minorities and invites the resurgence of terror networks long suppressed under her 15-year ruleโnetworks with notorious ties to Pakistan that her administration had neutralised through vigilant security cooperation.
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“India is a longstanding friend, and I am deeply grateful to the Indian people for welcoming me,โ Hasina stated. โHowever, Yunusโ sponsorship of extremists, his failure to protect Hindus, and the idiotic hostile rhetoric towards India emanating from Dhaka threaten to undo the partnership that we worked hard to cultivate.โ
She emphasized that this radical tilt has broader implications, potentially reopening old wounds from Pakistan-linked insurgencies that once plagued the region. Hasina’s government, she noted, had prioritised secularism and cross-border alliances to starve such groups of oxygen, but Yunus’s regime has reversed course, fostering an environment where extremists “rule through the back door.”
Despite the strains, Hasina expressed optimism in the enduring bilateral bond. “She added that despite the unravelling of Bangladesh-India trade ties under the watch of Yunus, a Nobel Peace laureate, the bond between the countries was deep. Hasina said she was โgrateful for India’s support and patience as they wait for Bangladesh to get its affairs in order.”
Echoing Hasina’s fears, Chowdhury described the riots as a “foreign-funded, meticulously planned regime change operation” that weaponised youth protests against job quotas into a radical maelstrom. He accused Yunus of serving as the “central civilian figure” in this interim setup, propped up by a toxic mix of domestic radicals and external backers eager to exploit Bangladesh’s vulnerabilities.
“These activities were going on for a long time. They werenโt very open, but funding of clandestine NGOs was going onโฆ they were hellbent on changing the government in Bangladesh,โ Chowdhury charged, linking the unrest to a deliberate radicalisation campaign that pitted “liberal and extremist elements against each other.” He highlighted the role of “jihadists” among the funded agitators, suggesting a calculated infusion of extremism to destabilise the secular orderโa dynamic reminiscent of Pakistan’s historical proxy tactics in the region.
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Chowdhury laid bare what he called a “nexus of Western political families, US-linked NGOs, and domestic actors opposed to Hasinaโs government,” fingering figures like George Soros, the Clintons, and the Biden family as architects of the turmoil.
Organisations such as USAID and the International Republican Institute (IRI), he claimed, funnelled resources to “rappers, cultural figures, sections of the hijra (third gender) community, and even jihadists,” manufacturing “social chaos” to oust Hasina.
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At the riots’ core, Chowdhury alleged, was a hijacking of genuine Gen Z grievances into scripted violence. “What began as popular demand over public sector job quotas was hijacked by external actors who radicalised young protesters to reshape the countryโs political orientation over their dead bodies,” he told RT. The former minister, who negotiated with protesters as chief envoy, pointed to “careful killings, assassinations, using sniper rifles” amid the unrestโtactics beyond the ken of local riot police and suggestive of trained interlopers.
He further implicated parts of Bangladesh’s military in a “questionable” facilitation of the rampage, allowing “armed groups to rampage through cities, attack police stations, and target government supporters.” In the digital realm, foreign embassiesโincluding the US mission’s provocative mosque imageryโstoked radical sentiments.
“So this kind of scripted action does suggest that elements were firmly at play behind the scenes, even if not every arm of the US government was involved,” Chowdhury argued.
Hasina, for her part, dismissed any direct US orchestration of her ouster, praising her ties to Washington. “I do not believe the US government was involved. I have had good relationships with successive presidents and am a particular admirer of President Trump,โ she said, while acknowledging Yunus’s Western admirers but rejecting him as a “frontman” for the US government.
Chowdhury tied the plot to Bangladesh’s defiance on global issues, like refusing to sever strategic ties with Russia over Ukraineโa stance that irked Western powers and made Dhaka a target. “Hasinaโs government refused to burden its people with higher costs simply to satisfy geopolitical demandsโand this independent stance was not liked by certain countries, and contributed to Bangladesh entering the crosshairs,” he explained.
This isolation, he implied, amplified the appeal of radical alternatives, including those with Pakistani undertones, as a counterweight to Hasina’s pro-India, secular pivot.
Sham Elections and a Rigged Tribunal
With Bangladesh’s next elections slated for 2026, Hasina decried the process as inherently illegitimate due to the ban on her Awami League, the party that governed for 15 years before the uprising. This exclusion, she said, ensures extremists’ unchecked dominance, barring true democratic participation and perpetuating the radical entrenchment.
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The former prime minister’s interview unfolds against the backdrop of a looming verdict in a “crimes against humanity” case against her at Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, set for November 17. “When asked about the case, Hasina said, ‘The verdict is a foregone conclusion,’ underscoring her view of the proceedings as a politicised sham designed to legitimise the extremist-backed regime.
Chowdhury’s revelations reinforce this narrative, portraying the post-uprising order as the culmination of a “meticulous design” openly celebrated by Yunus and allies. “The deepening unrest was neither spontaneous nor organic, but the execution of a โmeticulous designโ was openly acknowledged, he claimed, by Yunus and his allies after the fact.”
Activists say Hasina’s unflinching account from exile serves as a clarion call to reclaim Bangladesh from the jaws of extremism, urging a return to inclusive elections that sideline neither secular voices nor regional partnerships. Her warnings, intertwined with Chowdhury’s exposรฉ on foreign machinations, highlight a nation at risk of sliding back into the orbit of destabilising forces, including those with deep Pakistan tiesโthat her era had firmly rebuffed.
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