‘India saved my mother’s life’: Sheikh Hasina’s son rejects legitimacy of her extradition
Since his mother flew to India in August 2024, Sajeeb Wazed Joy in an interview with ANI expressed his deep gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for granting asylum to his mother, claiming that militants were planning to assassinate her.
Wazed flatly rejected the legitimacy of Bangladesh’s extradition request, claiming that judicial norms were violated in the cases against his mother.
“They terminated 17 judges before the trial, illegally changed laws without parliament’s approval and barred defense lawyers from court proceedings,” he told ANI. “No country will extradite in the absence of due process of any kind.”
He expressed confidence that Indian authorities would reject the request, citing the lack of proper legal procedures in Dhaka.
The ousted Prime Minister faces multiple accusations related to his 15-year tenure in Bangladesh, but Wazed insists the judicial process has been fundamentally compromised by the interim government. Explaining the circumstances of his mother’s dramatic departure, Wazed credited India with saving her life. “India actually saved my mother’s life. If she had not left Bangladesh, the militants had planned to kill her,” he said.
While he acknowledged that his government “mismanaged” the initial protests in July 2024, he described subsequent events as a planned “political coup” rather than a spontaneous popular uprising.
In claims likely to resonate with security agencies in New Delhi, Wazed claimed that the interim Younis government had released “tens of thousands of terrorists” previously convicted under Sheikh Hasina’s administration.
Claiming that Lashkar-e-Taiba is now operating freely in Bangladesh, the official alleged a link between its local branch and the recent terror attacks in Delhi.
“I think Prime Minister Modi is probably very, very concerned about terrorism coming from Bangladesh,” he said, directly tying the political unrest in Dhaka to India’s security concerns.
The allegations come at a time when relations between the two neighbors are already strained over the treatment of minorities and border security.
Significantly escalating his allegations, Wazed accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of arming militants who infiltrated last year’s protests.
Referring to video evidence of gunmen among the demonstrators, he said: “Without doubt, these weapons must have been procured from somewhere in the subcontinent and the only possible source is the ISI.”
He also referred to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who allegedly claimed that the previous Biden administration spent “millions of dollars on regime change in Bangladesh” through USAID funding.
Wazed suggested that the Trump administration appears “more concerned than its predecessor about the threat of terrorism and the rise of Islamism in Bangladesh” but declined to confirm any direct contact with current US officials.
Wazed painted a striking picture of the conditions of the interim government led by Nobel laureate Mohammed Younis, claiming that “tens of thousands of political prisoners” were imprisoned without trial.
“You’ve had an unelected government staying in power for over a year and a half. Everything has been done undemocratically,” he said, adding that more than 100 former members of parliament are among those detained.
The interim administration argued that its mandate should be extended to implement reforms after years of authoritarian rule. However, it has not yet announced an exact timetable for the elections.
Challenging the legitimacy of the interim government, Wazed questioned why elections were not held if Yunus had real popular support.
He cited polling data showing that the student movement’s political party garnered only two percent support.
“If Muhammad Yunus was popular, why wouldn’t he hold an election and govern the country legitimately?” he asked.
Amid allegations of corruption within his mother’s government, Wazed offered a qualified thank you while highlighting economic achievements.
“There was corruption in Bangladesh, of course,” he acknowledged, but argued that the country had gone from being the world’s most corrupt country to outside the top 10 under Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
He pointed to Bangladesh’s graduation from least developed country status to recognition as a potential “Asian tiger” as evidence that corruption is not systemic.
“This level of development and economic growth would not have been possible with massive corruption,” he added.
The interim Bangladeshi government did not respond to specific allegations made by Wazed regarding judicial procedures, the release of convicted terrorists, or the number of political prisoners currently detained.
