'Fear Cannot Decide Duty': Sheikh Hasina Breaks Silence After 2 Years, Vows To Return To Bangladesh

Ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina spoke for the first time in live conference in nearly two years, virtually, from India about the violent 2024 protests that ended her 15-year rule. Hasina said Muhammad Yunus’s remarks pointed to a planned campaign.

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Sheikh Hasina breaks two-year silence

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made her first live public media appearance in nearly two years on Wednesday, August 5, speaking virtually from India about the events that forced her to leave the country in August 2024. She vowed to return to the country despite expressing that she might be detained amid the multiple criminal cases against her. The ex-Bangladesh PM asserted that 'fear cannot decide her duty to people of Bangladesh'.

The virtual interaction was organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) South Asia in New Delhi. The appearance came on the second anniversary of Hasina’s departure from Dhaka after a student-led uprising brought an end to her 15-year rule.

#LISTEN | In a virtual interaction with the media in Delhi, former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina says, "...I speak as someone who has spent her life with the people of Bangladesh and was forced away from my country, but I was never separated from my people..."

(Source:… pic.twitter.com/R3kL0mXKgB

— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2026

Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, speaking virtually to media in Delhi:
“ I speak as someone who has spent her life with the people of Bangladesh. I was forced away from my country,…”
Her voice broke as she became emotional and teared up.#SheikhHasina#Bangladesh#Delhipic.twitter.com/enCVJFg0by

— Prashant Shekhar Mishra (@SrPsm007) August 5, 2026

Speaking about the protests, Hasina rejected the description of the movement as a peaceful student uprising. She said that organised groups had used student demands to create a wider political campaign against her government.

Image Credit : Asianet News

Hasina accuses Yunus over 2024 protests

Hasina also referred to remarks made by Muhammad Yunus, who later became the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.

“His own words expose the truth,” Hasina said, referring to Yunus’s description of the movement as “meticulously designed”.

She claimed the protests were not simply spontaneous and alleged that there was no clear public leadership, with instructions being given secretly.

#LISTEN | In a virtual interaction with the media in Delhi, while speaking on 2 years of 2024 violent protest in the country - former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina says, "Muhammad Yunus himself said this was a meticulously designed movement, led by a mastermind. His own words… pic.twitter.com/b26cDRnExO

— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2026

According to Hasina, the movement was organised and directed in a way that created a route to political power outside the ballot box.

She also defended her government’s response, saying authorities had initially tried to address the students’ demands through dialogue, legal procedures and patience.

Image Credit : Asianet News

‘This is not the Bangladesh we built’

Hasina spoke emotionally about Bangladesh and the changes she had witnessed since leaving the country.

“For the last two years, I watched my beloved Bangladesh suffer,” she said, adding that the country she sees today is not the Bangladesh she helped build.

She also referred to the 1971 Liberation War and the millions who, she said, sacrificed their lives for the country.

At another point, Hasina became visibly emotional and her voice broke as she spoke about being forced to leave Bangladesh.

“I speak as someone who has spent her life with the people of Bangladesh,” she said, adding that although she had been forced away from the country, she had never been separated from its people.

Bangladesh government had warned media

Hasina’s appearance came despite a warning issued by Bangladesh’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry on August 4.

The ministry urged television channels, newspapers, online news portals and social media platforms in Bangladesh not to broadcast or publish statements or press releases issued by Hasina.

It said there were legal obligations preventing such broadcasts and referred to an earlier order by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

According to the ministry, the ICT had instructed relevant authorities, including the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the ICT Division and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, to prevent the broadcast of Hasina’s statements.

The National Cyber Security Agency had also cited legal provisions and asked media organisations to refrain from carrying her statements, the ministry said.

The government said the restrictions were linked to national security and called on media organisations to act responsibly.

Image Credit : social media

Hasina's stay in India

Hasina has remained in India since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024 following the protests.

Her latest media appearance gives her an opportunity to directly address international journalists about the events that ended her long rule.

Her comments are likely to add to the continuing political debate over the 2024 protests, her government's response and the direction Bangladesh has taken since her departure.