Ex-Bangladesh minister says Yunus govt will be overthrown soon, predicts Sheikh Hasina’s return

Veteran Awami League leader and former Bangladesh Home Minister Azaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said that the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government will be overthrown soon and that Sheikh Hasina will return to Bangladesh.

In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18, the 74-year-old Awami League stalwart said, “The time and date I can’t say, but we will go to Bangladesh.”

Kamal, who served as Home Minister for more than a decade in Hasina’s cabinet, accused the current regime of being illegitimate and said that public anger against the Yunus administration is rapidly building. “The people of Bangladesh are emotional. They are now opposing the Yunus government. In a very short time, the Yunus government will be thrown out,” he said.

‘We will return when there is a level playing field’

Reflecting on Hasina’s ouster on August 5, 2024, Kamal said the Awami League remains committed to democracy and electoral politics but has been systematically targeted under the current administration.

“We are committed to fight the elections, we believe in democracy. We participate in every election. This time, they are not allowing us to participate. Thousands of our people are in jail or are facing cases. People have left Bangladesh but they will come again. When there will be a level-playing field. People will give their verdict for Bangladesh. We will receive a landslide victory, if there is an inclusive election,” Kamal told CNN-News18.

Hasina resigned on August 5 last year when protesters surrounded the Prime Minister’s residence in Dhaka. Her resignation was announced by General Waker-uz-Zaman, the Chief of the Army Staff. Hasina fled to India by helicopter with her sister, Sheikh Rehana.

‘It was a silent coup’

Kamal described the events of August 5 as a “silent coup” carried out by the military leadership. He directly accused General Waker-uz-Zaman of betrayal, claiming that the Army and Navy chiefs abandoned their duty to protect the elected government.

“Our Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman failed to protect our government. He did not keep his word. He betrayed us,” Kamal said. “His activities, behaviour, action surprised us on August 5. On August 4, he confirmed he would do his best to protect Dhaka and Hasina.”

He further alleged that the military’s betrayal shattered any chance of a political resolution to the crisis. “It was a silent coup. The Army and Navy chiefs betrayed us. Zaman betrayed us. It was possible we could solve it politically. Zaman confirmed he would do his best to solve the problem,” Kamal said.

‘We were forced to leave’

The former minister rejected criticism that Awami League leaders fled instead of facing the situation. Drawing parallels with Nepal, where leaders chose to stay during political turmoil, Kamal said Hasina and her team had no other choice.

“Our leader was forced to leave. Some of the leaders accompanied. We waited for one month in Bangladesh. I left Bangladesh in September. There was massacre, burning, killing, especially Awami League people were targeted by BNP and Jamat-e-Islam,” he said.

“They burned, killed, looted, raped women workers. That’s why leaders left Bangladesh,” Kamal added.

He accused the judiciary of working under political pressure. “The judiciary is corrupt. Till today, not a single leader has got bail. Seeing no other remedy, we left Bangladesh,” he said.

‘Pakistan is supporting Yunus’

Kamal also questioned the foreign alignments of the Yunus administration, saying that Pakistan’s support for the current regime was a red flag.

“The Indian government is our trusted friend. They have supported our Liberation War. Pakistan is supporting Yunus,” he told CNN-News18.

Kamal’s remarks highlight the growing tension between exiled Awami League leaders and the interim administration. His prediction of Yunus’s downfall reflects the deepening political fault lines in post-Hasina Bangladesh, where questions of legitimacy, foreign influence, and military intervention continue to dominate the national discourse.