Interview: ‘Hasina thought only India mattered,’ says Yunus press secretary

Three days after Hasina fled to Delhi, toppled by mass protests, an interim government was sworn in to lead Bangladesh. Headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammad Yunus, the ministry had the difficult task of stabilising a post-revolution Bangladesh as well as holding polls to bring in a new government.

On Thursday, with the first post-Hasina elections, the Interim Government's term will be coming to an end.

To understand its record in office, Scroll sat down with Yunus' press secretary, Shafiqul Alam at his residence in Dhaka.

Alam has been the government's principal spokesperson and one of its most prominent faces. In a nearly hour-long interview, he talks to Scroll about his government's performance, his views on the Indian media, justifies the banning of the Awami League and tells us why he disapproved of what he calls Hasina's excessive reliance on India.

Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How would you judge the performance of the interim government over the last one and a half years?

It's been brilliant, I think. Professor Yunus did an amazing job. He oversaw a big recovery of the economy. He brought peace and stability. The government has done widespread reforms. To every segment, every vital sector of the economy, he has introduced reforms. There were legal reforms so that human rights are established; people can at least be sure that their rights will not be robbed by another monster like Hasina. Then he brought new dynamism in foreign policy. For years, we acted like Bangladeshi foreign policy was leased out to another country.

Which country?

I don't want to say it. But that was the fact. But at the end of the day Bangladesh is a country of 180 million people, it's quite a big country. The eighth-largest country in the world as far as population is concerned. So we have to show to the world that we are a proud country with our own foreign policy.

I want to dig deeper into the tenure of your government. For the past 18 months, law and order has been a major concern of Bangladeshis across the spectrum, would you agree?​

I don't think so. I think the law and order situation has stabilised.

We have been transparent about our crime figures and that clearly shows that the situation has stabilised. The number of murders in 2025 was less than the number of murders in 2024.

But people in Bangladesh are constantly telling me that crimes are happening, they're not getting reported. There is chaos…

[Interrupts] It's a lie and mostly it is propagated by the Indian media. It's a lie.

The day after Osman Hadi was killed, there were attacks on newspaper offices, cultural organisations. The people that I've spoken to say that the response was tardy at best. Not only the police but even the army seemed unwilling to control the situation. There have been very prominent voices that have actually directly blamed your government, said that not only were you unable but you were unwilling to control the situation.

That's pure nonsense. I have said it earlier and I'm saying it again: we sent police, we sent military officers, they couldn't prevent it, that's it.

But isn't that a really bad reflection on law and order?​ I've been to the Daily Star office, three floors are burnt out. It's a horrific sight.

I don't deny that. But to say that part of this government was involved or allowed these things to happen is pure nonsense. We would invite these people to provide any evidence they have.

Your revolution was purposed on street street power. Is there a fear, a spectre where this street power is now becoming mob rule? A mob can go and burn down powerful newspaper offices and cultural organisations?

How many incidents like this have happened? Just tell me

A lot of incidents like that have happened but these are really prominent incidents

How many? I want to know how many.

I want to come to another issue that's been raised repeatedly as part of your administration: minority insecurity. What is your reaction to that?

That is a big myth created by the Indian media.

Indian media?​

Yes.

Let me quote data from Ain o Salish Kendra. Not Indian, it is a Bangladeshi rights group. From January to December 2024 there were 130 incidents of attacks on religious places. I'm not even talking of attacks on minorities. These are attacks on idols, attacks on temples, attacks on monasteries.

I think attacks on Sufi shrines also.

In fact Makam, which is a centre for Sufi heritage, has said that nearly 100 shrines have been attacked since the revolution happened, right? There is a Baul, Abul Sarkar, who's in jail supposedly under allegations of blasphemy

He was arrested under Hasina too. He said something during a baul singing session, someone got offended and filed a case.

You have to ask the courts about it. People file cases after claiming to be offended. It has nothing to do with the government.

And about the attack on the minorities: last year there were around 70 attacks. We said there were some attacks on Hindu temples, some attacks on Sufi shrines. We don't disagree.

But to say it only happened only during the past 18 months is not right. These things have been happening for many years. You have to see whether we are sincere: are we arresting the accused? We arrested dozens of people over these attacks. They are being prosecuted.

Are you worried about the rise of the right in Bangladesh?

No.

Because coterminus with your government there has been a rise of the right and I would say even far right. Are you worried?

No, I'm not. I would say Islam in Bangladesh is deeply moderate. Islamic parties have been here for decades, maybe more than a century. The first session of the Muslim League actually took place in Dhaka in 1906. But they try to win popular support and continue to remain democratic. I do admit that there are a very tiny number of extremists [in Bangladesh] but this government has zero tolerance against them. Just a few days back a suspected extremist was arrested.

Right now you have a party in government, the Jamaat-e-Islami, that does not believe in 1971. In fact it was on Pakistan's side. It itself says we did not want an independent Bangladesh to come about.

Isn't it a very odd thing for a country to have a major party which was opposed to its creation?

It's not for me to comment on this.

Fair enough but what is your personal view? Do you feel it's a bit odd?

Jamaat is very much part of the country's fabric.

If you look at Quebec in Canada or Scotland [in the United Kingdom], they regularly hold debates on independence. And some people opposed it. But that doesn't mean that you are deviating from democracy.

But 1971 is very very different from that. There was a mass killing, it was a war, right? It's very different from having a debate.

Okay. But you are asking me a question about how they are opposing 1971.​

What is your government's view on 1971?

It was a glorious war of independence against Pakistani forces. They slaughtered our people. They massacred our people. There was a genocide and millions of people fled to India. Professor Yunus played a big role in mobilising support in the West [for the Liberation War].

So your government disagrees with the Jamaat on the idea of ‘71?

Our stand is that we are proud of 1971. That is our DNA. That is what we are.

This idea that the idea of ‘71 is rolled back, your government is rolling it back, it's not true?

That's propaganda. It's very much propaganda.

Who is rolling back what?

We are rolling back the Awami's tainted narrative. They never talked about the massacres of the Biharis by their workers in 1970.

The Awami is banned in this election. Its political activities have been stopped under the anti-terror law. Do you think this casts a cloud over this election? A major party in Bangladesh, the party of Bangladesh's freedom, cannot even fight an election?

Would you allow the Nazi party to take part in the political process in post-1945 Germany?

But do you think the party of Bangladesh's freedom is the same as the Nazi party?

I think this party has deviated from its glorious past. They chose the politics of murders, they sent their armed workers to kill protesters. So who is going to bring them into the political process?

And they haven't even apologised.

Again I know that they are a party of 80 years old, they have a glorious past, I agree.

But have they shown any remorse? Nothing. Even today they are trying to instigate violence against student protesters, violence against [ordinary] people.

Let us for the sake of argument, accept everything that you said. Even then why not let them fight the election and let the people of Bangladesh refute them?

That's true, you don't have to accept or reject, that's the truth

So why not let the people of Bangladesh decide?

We represent the people of Bangladesh.

How do you represent the people? You are an unelected government.

We are the fruit of the revolution. So obviously we carry the dreams and the aspirations of the people who fought against Hasina.

But does that give you authority to ban a party?

Why not? If it is involved in terrorist activities, why not?

But then some people would say you are scared that if you did let them fight, they would win a lot of votes and embarrass you.

No, who is going to vote for them [laughs]?

Hasina even when she was in power, she was rigging elections using the police, military and the local administration. She was not even relying on her own supporters because she knew that her support stands hugely eroded.

If she was sure that her party was going to win the election, why would she rely on the police to stuff ballot boxes?

Relations between India and Bangladesh have likely never been worse since 1971. Why do you think that is?

I don't like the way you describe it.

If you look at the trade figures, if you look at our cooperation in border management, that is very much there.

India and Bangladesh share a massive border. It is, I think, the fourth-largest border in the world. You cannot draw the map of India without drawing the map of Bangladesh. We share 54 rivers, we share languages, we share people. I myself have relatives on the other side of the border.

But Hasina fled to India and from there she has been inciting violence. So there are legitimate concerns that Bangladesh has about her staying in India.

What would you want India to do?

During a meeting with the Indian prime minister, the Chief Advisor [Yunus] requested that she be prevented from speaking to her people and instigate violence.

We are dealing with the situation here and she is instigating her people to take revenge.

You are claiming Delhi-Dhaka relations are fine but then what is leading to so much bad blood when it comes to statements?

I don't know. One thing is quite clear that we have seen a massive propaganda campaign by the Indian media. We never expected it. Every major Indian media outlet is spreading fake news [on Bangladesh]. They do it every day. Every day.

So, you are saying government relations are good. It's the Indian media spoiling things?

I don't know why they are doing it. We still don't know.

We invited them. Come. Visit Bangladesh. Stay here. Even set up a bureau here. Look at society.

It's right next door.

But the government of India also made a lot of statements around the Bangladesh situation.

I think their statements are also fueled by the bad journalism done by the Indian media.

You are giving a lot of power to journalists.

Sometimes you react without knowing the full story.

So you think the Government of India is reacting without knowing the full story?

We saw in some cases they were reacting to a story that was later found to be not true.

Are Bangladesh's relations with Pakistan a lot better now? The first flight to Pakistan just started after 14 years.

It's part of our new foreign policy drive in which we want better relations with all SAARC countries.

As opposed to? Do you think Hasina did not do that?

No.

What was the problem in Hasina's foreign policy?

Maybe she thought the only thing that mattered in South Asia was India.

Source: Scroll
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