New Delhi, Nov 13 — Vowing to return home soon from a self-imposed exile since August 2024, Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said that she has considered all possibilities, including arrest, imprisonment and even a death sentence. In an exclusive interview with IANS, the deposed Awami League leader made it clear that she cannot stay away from home when ordinary people in Bangladesh are suffering and families are losing their homes along with livelihoods.
"I stopped worrying about my personal safety a long time ago. I returned to Bangladesh in 1981, despite military rule. I returned again in 2007, knowing that the military-backed government might arrest me. I have faced imprisonment and repeated attempts on my life. Fear has never stopped me from doing what I believe is right," Hasina told IANS in a rare audio interview since she left Dhaka in August 2024.
The 79-year-old daughter of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also spoke about India-Bangladesh ties, growing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, the allegations levelled against her and Dhaka's growing closeness to China.
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