Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, 22 July alleged that the country has entered a 'dangerous phase' following the July-August 2024 political upheaval, claiming the elected Awami League government was toppled through what she described as a 'meticulously designed operation' orchestrated by former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus under the cover of quota reform protests.

Key Allegations at International Dialogue

Hasina made the remarks while addressing an international strategic dialogue titled 'Reinventing Bangladesh: A World Crisis to Overcome'. She alleged that violent extremists were not merely participants in the 2024 protests but also organisers and beneficiaries, claiming their stated strategy was to 'create dead bodies, create outrage, and the government will fall.'

She accused interim government chief Yunus, current Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, and radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami of jointly pursuing the demonstrations with that objective, characterising the unrest as a coordinated political conspiracy rather than a spontaneous student movement.

Collapse of Law Enforcement and Militant Releases

According to Hasina, 460 police stations were burned down during the upheaval, triggering a widespread collapse in law enforcement. She alleged that police personnel were 'brutally murdered and hanged from over-bridges', prisons were stormed, and convicted militants were released — including, she claimed, leaders of banned organisations such as Ansarullah Bangla Team, Hizb ut Tahrir, Harkat ul Jihad, and Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Notably, this is the first time Hasina has publicly catalogued the militant releases in such specific detail at an international forum, lending the allegations a new level of institutional weight even as they remain unverified by independent sources.

Attacks on Minorities and Judiciary

Hasina further alleged that religious institutions belonging to Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Ahmaddiyas, and Sufi communities, along with socio-cultural organisations, were attacked and destroyed. 'This was an assault on the historic religious harmony of Bangladesh,' she said.

She also claimed that a former Chief Justice of Bangladesh was implicated in 'false cases', handcuffed, and imprisoned, while several judges were allegedly attacked with 'machetes, Chinese axes, sticks and firearms' before being compelled to resign — allegations that, if substantiated, would represent a serious rupture in judicial independence.

Economic and Humanitarian Fallout

On the economic front, Hasina asserted that gains achieved under her administration had been reversed since August 2024, with poverty rising and public security deteriorating. She stated that 'hundreds of children died because they couldn't get their vaccine', pointing to what she described as a breakdown in basic public health delivery.

She also alleged that lawyers, journalists, cultural activists, and Awami League members had been 'beaten to death, hacked with sharp weapons, arrested, tortured', and that women and girls had been raped and killed, painting a picture of systematic violence against political opponents and civilians alike.

What Comes Next

Hasina's address at an international forum signals a broader effort by the exiled former leader to build global pressure on the current Dhaka administration. Whether these allegations prompt any formal international scrutiny of the Yunus-led interim government or the Tarique Rahman administration remains to be seen. Independent verification of the specific claims — particularly around militant releases and judicial attacks — will be critical to how the international community responds.