PM’s adviser comments on Hasina’s announcement to return home

Zahed Ur Rahman, the Prime Minister’s Adviser for Information and Broadcasting, has said that the government is prepared if ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants to return to Bangladesh from India following the July mass uprising that brought down her government.

Sheikh Hasina will certainly be arrested if she returns to the country, Zahed Ur Rahman said. “She (Sheikh Hasina) says she will come. So let her come; we are ready,” he said.

The adviser made the remarks in response to questions from journalists at a press conference held at the Secretariat on Tuesday to brief the media on the government’s recent activities.

Zahed Ur Rahman said, “We want her here. Please come. We have written to India. The Indian high commissioner has been meeting with our foreign minister and foreign affairs adviser. The message at every level has been the same: we want to bring her back, and as long as she remains there, she should not make any political statements. A committee of the Indian Parliament has submitted a report, and it believes Sheikh Hasina should not engage in politics there and that she should not be given permission to do so.”

The Prime Minister’s Adviser for Information and Broadcasting said, “We want to bring her back to face the law… She says she will come. So let her come; we are ready. And we are also saying that we will ensure justice for her. Whatever is required under the law, she will certainly be arrested. After her arrest, she can exercise whatever legal rights she has. Whatever verdict the court delivers—whether it upholds the death penalty, acquits her, or anything else—we are prepared to accept it.”

Referring to the government’s earlier instructions to the media regarding restrictions on broadcasting Sheikh Hasina’s statements, Zahed Ur Rahman said Sheikh Hasina would deliver a speech on Wednesday.

“If anyone publicises or broadcasts it in advance by announcing it beforehand, that would certainly constitute contempt of the court’s verdict. Action will be taken in this regard,” he said.

He added that the media would once again be reminded not to engage in such activities.