Bangladesh awaits interim government, army chief to meet protesters | Expert Analysis
Bangladesh awaits interim government, army chief to meet protesters | Expert Analysis
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00:00First of all, was what happened yesterday anticipated or was it as surprising for you as many people reacted to it on social media yesterday?
00:12Yes, thank you very much.
00:15As far as the expectation was concerned, obviously Sheikh Hasina was in trouble.
00:23And especially the death of more than 300 people in the last month was a very shocking thing.
00:32But I personally did not expect that Sheikh Hasina would die so soon and go to India.
00:43Perhaps this happened before our expectations.
00:46But you are absolutely right that this is not just a matter of one day.
00:52This is a matter of the last 15-16 years.
00:55Because we see that the last three elections in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party did not participate at all.
01:06And the attitude of Sheikh Hasina towards the opposition parties is also in front of us.
01:13The leaders of the Islamic Community were also hanged.
01:16Sham trials were conducted against them.
01:19And so on and so forth.
01:20And then Khalid Aziz had been locked up for a long time.
01:26So yesterday was a very important and important day in the history of Bangladesh.
01:32And we have also seen the scenes, as you said, that the statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brought down.
01:39It also reminds us of the statue of Saddam Hussein.
01:42And it also apologizes for the people who betrayed Pakistan.
01:46They did not have a good end, unfortunately.
01:50Because today, you see, Sheikh Hasina of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also had to flee.
01:56And had to go to India and take refuge.
01:59Now it is that the politics of his family has ended in Bangladesh.
02:03In fact, there is also a statement of his son that now his mother is very disappointed.
02:09Now at this age, she is finally disappointed.
02:12So the same poem came on it that after my murder, she repented from Jaffa.
02:17Oh, her regret.
02:21Yes, Sajeeb Ajit also said that her sons, she is done with Bangladesh.
02:26And now her only suggestion is that the leaders of Awami League should be saved.
02:34Now the matter of Awami League is that with such an autocratic mindset, Sheikh Hasina governed, ruled.
02:42That he did not even let the second tier leadership come forward.
02:46He also considered Awami League as his family's legacy.
02:50So a vacuum has been created at the moment.
02:52But Abdul Basit sir, there is one more thing.
02:54Abdul Basit sir, sorry if I ask.
02:56Please, please.
02:57Abdul Basit sir, what are the red flags that have been seen?
02:59If we talk about some characteristics that when such people react,
03:04then what are the real factors that are visible?
03:07Economically, in terms of governance, in terms of corruption or the bogus cases that have been made.
03:13What are the major red flags that you have seen in their governance?
03:16Look, we can definitely give credit to Sheikh Hasina that for the past few decades,
03:23economically Bangladesh has performed much better.
03:27In fact, a lot of investment from Pakistan has gone to Bangladesh.
03:31But when the matter of quota system has triggered all this.
03:37Although Sheikh Hasina did not have a direct, direct role.
03:42It was decided by the courts of Dhaka or Bangladesh.
03:47And then in the end, the Supreme Court reduced it from 30% to 7%.
03:54But there were stories of corruption going on with Sheikh Hasina.
03:59Then, as I said before, they put the opposition right next to the wall.
04:04And then in the foreign policy domain of Bangladesh,
04:09the disputes with India, whether it is the matter of sharing of Tista water,
04:17or the matter of sharing of Fiji river, or the matter of Paraka Bairaj,
04:22they conceded a lot to India.
04:26In fact, recently, a while ago, Sheikh Hasina made a decision that
04:31the conservation and management project of Tista water is going to be given to China.
04:38Then, under the pressure of the Prime Minister himself, he gave the project to India.
04:44So, I think that people have seen that Sheikh Hasina is now becoming a dictator.
04:51And it happened in July.
04:54Last year, last month.
04:56Yes, last month.
04:57So, people were told that he is a dictator and there is a big threat to the democracy in Bangladesh.
05:04And he did not let all the opposition parties work in a way.
05:09And if you look at the parliament, and the way it came in the last elections,
05:13I think it was a red flag, as you said.
05:17So, all this cumulative effect happened.
05:19And today, Bangladesh is in this state.
05:21Abdul Basit sir, there is one more thing.
05:23One thing is that Bangladesh's policy is totally India-centric.
05:28You gave some references as well.
05:30The total focus was on how to please India, one way or the other.
05:34And secondly, you are talking about the impression that what happened with India,
05:38what happened with America in Afghanistan,
05:41what happened with India in Dhaka,
05:43that their policy was totally public-centric.
05:46So, the propaganda that if Khalid Zia's government comes,
05:50or some other Jamaat's government comes,
05:52then Bangladesh will be in the hands of extremists.
05:54So, was there such an over-control of resentment among the people there?
05:59Absolutely, you are absolutely right.
06:01And the way Sheikh Haseena ran away from her country,
06:05you are absolutely right, I remember Ashraf Ghani as well.
06:08So, on 15th August 2021, he ran away from his country.
06:12If she was so popular,
06:14then she would have stayed in the country.
06:16Now, an Inquiry Commission, I am sure, will be formed.
06:18It will investigate who is responsible for the 300 deaths.
06:23So, a situation has been created.
06:26And we, as Pakistanis,
06:28we have always tried to make Sheikh Haseena's relationship with Bangladesh better.
06:36We invited her to Pakistan many times.
06:39But her 1971 narrative, or time, was not coming out of it.
06:45Mr. Asif, you have been an ambassador as well.
06:47You must remember, when he won the match against Pakistan in 1999,
06:52do you remember his statement that we have avenged 1971?
06:55Yes, we have avenged 1971.
06:57Just imagine.
06:58There is a protocol of 1974, Mr. Ashraf,
07:01which is very clear.
07:03If you read Article 16,
07:05it is very clear that Pakistan and Bangladesh will move forward,
07:10forgetting the past.
07:12But they keep saying that Pakistan should apologize.
07:16Even though President Pervez Musharraf,
07:19when he repeated Bangladesh in 2005,
07:22he apologized and apologized.
07:26Whatever mistakes Pakistan made.
07:28But since they were playing in the hands of India,
07:31and especially in the hands of Prime Minister Modi,
07:34they do not want to upset India.
07:37I think a new era will begin.
07:40Our prayer is that the chaos that we are seeing right now…
07:44This is a very important question.
07:46Will a new era begin or will we see the same faces again after a while?
07:50A question arises here.
07:52We saw the situation in Sri Lanka a few days ago.
07:55There was the same situation there as well.
07:57The people of the family were a part of the government.
07:59There was a minister, there was an important post.
08:01After that, the way the people reacted.
08:03There were financial problems there.
08:05We saw one situation here in Bangladesh.
08:07So where is this politics of South Asia going wrong?
08:11The way the people are reacting,
08:13the public sentiment is like this.
08:15My short answer is that this is family politics.
08:19It did not make the democracy in Pakistan so independent.
08:24And we, maybe South Asia, our DNA, our temperament is the same.
08:29But in this regard, I commend India.
08:33That the BJP broke the family hold of the Congress.
08:38Now we have to see if they can sustain it or not.
08:43There has been this dilemma in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well.
08:46Because if you look at the state of Zia,
08:48she is also the wife of Zia-ur-Rehman.
08:50There is also family politics there.
08:52And Pakistan, Alhamdulillah, we are also a part of it.
08:56So I think we should learn from the experience of other countries.
09:00If we have to talk about democracy,
09:03if we have to take the system of democracy forward in our country,
09:07then political parties should also think about how to make them institutions.
09:13There is one more thing.
09:15The role of youth in this is very important.
09:18The policies of Haseena Wajid in Bangladesh,
09:21at that time, the anger was in the youth.
09:23Because of her, she was in power for 16 years.
09:26No other party could come.
09:28Two-thirds of the population there is dependent on the youth.
09:31And those young people have not been able to vote yet.
09:34So that may be a key factor as well.
09:37Absolutely.
09:38See, in any country in the world,
09:40if there is a revolution or a change,
09:44it is brought by the youth.
09:46If you look at the history of the revolution in Iran,
09:49the youth came from the campuses, came from the universities,
09:53they made sacrifices.
09:54And this is what happens everywhere.
09:56This is what history teaches us.
09:58But anyway, we, as a charity,
10:01Pakistan has always been trying to improve our relations in Bangladesh.
10:06And we hope and pray that Bangladesh moves forward politically,
10:12moves forward economically,
10:14and that opportunities are created for both our countries.
10:16Absolutely.
10:17Thank you so much, Abdul Basit Sahib.