Bangladesh on edge: Awami League calls nationwide lockdown to challenge Yunus regime ahead of Hasina verdict

Political leaflets depicting Sheikh Hasina and his father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are seen on the floor of the vandalised Awami League headquarters days after a student-led uprising that ended the 15-year rule of Awami League's leader Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on August 10, 2024. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP)

Bangladesh’s political tensions have reached a boiling point as the Awami League announced a nationwide daylong lockdown for Thursday, calling on citizens from all sections of society to join in. The move comes ahead of the International Crimes Tribunal’s expected announcement of the verdict date in the case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who faces charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, linked to the July 2024 uprising.

The country is on high alert, with the army, police, and paramilitary forces deployed across key areas, including airports and vital installations. Authorities have suspended street-side fuel sales as part of heightened security measures.

Speaking to News18, former Bangladesh minister and senior Awami League leader Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel said the lockdown was aimed at exposing the weakness of what he called the “Yunus regime.”

He said, “Our objective was to show the Yunus regime that the people are no longer with his cronies through a non-cooperation movement. Across the country, not just in Dhaka, people have already responded. They are staying indoors and boycotting everything associated with this illegal, murderous regime. The capital is already deserted. So yes, we have achieved our objective. They wanted to malign us by suggesting we would incite violence, but people have responded peacefully and overwhelmingly by joining the government boycott."

ALSO READ: Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus for straining ties with India, says 'will return to Bangladesh only if...'

Nowfel’s remarks highlight the growing anger within Bangladesh over Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government, which many citizens and opposition figures accuse of political overreach, media control, and arbitrary arrests. The government, struggling to contain dissent, has resorted to heavy policing and restrictions on movement in major cities.

Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Choudhury told reporters after a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Law and Order at the Secretariat, “We have stepped up our patrols, and security at key points of interest has been strengthened. Street-side fuel sales have also been stopped."

For the Awami League, Thursday’s lockdown is more than just a protest, it is a political test. The party, whose top leaders have either been jailed or forced into exile, is trying to prove that its support base remains strong despite months of state repression. Party insiders believe widespread public frustration with the current administration is helping the movement gain momentum.

Over recent months, Hasina has been addressing her party virtually, reaffirming her commitment to return to Bangladesh when “participatory democracy is restored.”