Hasina vows to return, blames Yunus for 'terrorism and lawlessness' in Bangladesh

In a scathing attack on the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh, the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused him of "destroying" Bangladesh while "unleashing terrorists to butcher" people.

In a virtual address to her Awami League party supporters, Hasina, who is living in exile in India after her government's downfall in August last year, accused the Yunus-led interim government of turning Bangladesh into a hub of "terrorism and lawlessness."

While addressing her supporters in Bangla, she vowed to return home and assured the suffering families of justice. Hasina accused Yunus of maintaining silence as dozens of police officers were killed last year during student-led riots against her government.

She said Yunus has no experience in running a government and he should step down.

"Yunus has no experience of running a government. He dissolved all inquiry committees and unleashed the terrorists to butcher people. They are destroying Bangladesh. We will oust this government of terrorists. Inshallah," said Hasina. She said, "I will return. The killers will face justice in Bangladesh. Their reckoning will happen on Bangladeshi soil. Perhaps that's why Allah has kept me alive."

Of late, Hasina has been regularly reaching out to her party cadre through online mode and disseminating her message to her supporters in Bangladesh. Recently, after Hasina addressed her supporters online, the residence of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka, was burnt by vandals. Rahman is the founding father of Bangladesh, who fought for independent Bangladesh from Pakistan.

Last week, while addressing the media on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Yunus vowed that he would not allow key figures from the ousted Sheikh Hasina regime to escape punishment, noting that the people of Bangladesh would not forgive his administration if they fail to bring them to justice.

"We'll bring her (Hasina) to justice. It has to happen, otherwise, people will not forgive us," Yunus said. He added, "We have already initiated the legal process, and we hope it will proceed smoothly so that we can bring her to justice. It is essential that this happens, otherwise, people will not forgive us," Yunus was quoted by Bangladesh media as saying.