Sheikh Hasina breaks silence from exile, says won’t leave India without ‘legitimate government’ in Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina says has no plans of leaving India

Bangladesh’s ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has broken her silence on the country’s upcoming elections, the Awami League’s suspension, and the charges of crimes against humanity she faces, while outlining her conditions for returning home.

In her first media interaction since being deposed after 15 consecutive years in power, Hasina told Reuters via email from New Delhi that she “would not return to Bangladesh under any government formed after elections that exclude her party” and plans to remain in India.

“I would of course love to go home, so long as the government there was legitimate, the Constitution was being upheld, and law and order genuinely prevailed,” she said.

Hasina has been living in New Delhi since leaving Dhaka on August 5, 2024, reportedly on the advice of Bangladesh’s then-Army Chief Waker-Uz-Zaman. She is said to be residing in a safe house in the Indian capital but was spotted a few months ago taking a stroll in Lodhi Garden, accompanied by her security detail.

The former prime minister and several senior members of her government are facing trial in Dhaka’s International Crimes Tribunal-1, where prosecutors have sought the death penalty over allegations of mass killings during the 2024 protests. Hasina has denied any wrongdoing, calling the proceedings a “sham trial.”

“The ICT is a sham court presided over by an unelected government consisting of my political opponents. Many of those opponents will stop at nothing to get rid of me,” she told The Independent.

The Election Commission suspended the Awami League’s registration in May 2025, and the Yunus-led interim government later banned all party activities. Hasina condemned the decision, calling it unjust and politically motivated.

“The ban on the Awami League is not only unjust, it is self-defeating,” she said. “Millions of people support the Awami League, so as things stand, they will not vote. You cannot disenfranchise millions of people if you want a political system that works.”

She added that Awami League supporters would boycott the elections if her party is not reinstated, but clarified that she would not urge them to support any other political group.

Hasina also spoke about the party’s future role in Bangladesh’s politics, emphasizing that leadership need not remain within her family.

“It’s really not about me or my family. For Bangladesh to achieve the future we all want, there must be a return to constitutional rule and political stability. No single person or family defines our country’s future,” she said.