Hasina invokes 1971 as she questions Yunus’s Pakistan push: 'Disturbing echoes'

Hasina, who fled Dhaka as protesters stormed her home in August 2024, lives in exile in New Delhi.

Attacking interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina said the violent incidents in her country are “disturbing echoes of 1971”.

“The violence we’re witnessing today — the targeting of minorities, the attacks on women, the attempts to erase our liberation history — are disturbing echoes of 1971,” she told News18. "We fought against this ideology in the war, and we built Bangladesh to be a strong, secular, and safe state – especially for women and minorities. It’s in our country’s interest to have a stable, constructive relationship with Pakistan. But we also need strong leadership: not just to protect our nation, but to protect those within it."

During the war of independence in Bangladesh in 1971, Pakistani troops allegedly used systematic rape as deliberate tactic. It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of Bengali women were victims of one of the worst instances in the 20th century of rape being used as a weapon of war.

Hasina also alleged that Yunus lacks both the mandate and experience to conduct diplomacy and claimed his outreach to Pakistan reflects desperation rather than strategic foresight.

“International bodies have unanimously condemned Yunus’ actions. It comes as no surprise that Yunus is rushing to embrace Pakistan, a regional player he doesn’t understand, begging for any form of international validation,” she said.

Hasina, who fled Dhaka as protesters stormed her home in August 2024, remains far from the gallows for now, living in exile in New Delhi. "I have no doubt that our relationship with India can withstand the silliness of the Yunus interlude, which will be temporary. India is not just a strategic partner, it is a friend with whom we share cultures, histories, and a 4,000km border. Once Bangladeshis can vote freely, they will elect a leader that can be the friend India deserves, and I appreciate our neighbour’s patience as it waits for common sense to prevail," said former Bangladesh PM.

On Dhaka requesting her extradition from India, Hasina said this is a "political assassination dressed in judicial robes". "The so-called International Crimes Tribunal is neither international nor impartial, as numerous respected foreign jurists have pointed out. Its verdict was engineered by my political opponents. To return to Dhaka under the Yunus regime would obviously not be safe for me," she told News18.

According to her, justice will come through international pressure and the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.