The violent political crisis in Bangladesh has reached a new high dramatic as a murder case was filed against the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and six others in connection with the gruesome murder of a grocery store owner during political violence that led to the overthrow of Hasina’s government.
The case is the first ever against the 76-year-old Hasina and comes a week after she resigned and went to India after a mass protest against a debatable job reservation policy. The other accused are other politicians from Hasina’s Awami League party, former top police, and other law enforcement bodies officials.
The accusations have deeper roots in an event on 19 July when a grocery store owner, Abu Sayed, was shot dead in police firing during a rally in support of quota reform in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur. The case was filed by a well-wisher of the deceased, as tends to be provided for by the law from time to time.
Hasina said that after the party’s ouster on August 5, clashes spread across Bangladesh and claimed more than 230 people’s lives. It brings the death figure since the anti-quota protests escalated in mid-July up to 560.
An interim government with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus at its head recently emerged. The new authorities are trying to stabilize the situation and hold parliamentary elections. As for what needs to be improved, Yunus has stressed the need for equal rights for people of all religions.
The United Nations and the United States of America have expressed concern over the matter. The United Nations Secretary-General has hailed the interim bailors’ plans to conduct free and fair elections. On the other hand, the White House dismissed the allegations of US involvement in Bangladeshi politics as a blatant lie.
While Pakistan, and especially Bangladesh itself, is still to come to terms with the consequences of Hasina’s defeat, the goal is now to set up a proper, balanced, and democratic process that would by itself be the echo of people’s will. The murder charge against the former prime minister has even exacerbated the political crisis, therefore the need for the political crisis to come to a peaceful end.
