Leaving Dhaka Was Matter Of Survival; Yunus’s Immunity To Perpetrators Exposed Pre-Planned Coup: Sheikh Hasina | Exclusive

Last Updated:November 13, 2025, 09:01 IST

The former Bangladeshi Prime Minister concluded that either Yunus himself was preparing to seize power, or those who installed him were operating with a clear strategy

Hasina pointed directly to the actions of the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, as irrefutable proof of a preconceived plan to overthrow her administration. File image/AFP

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has characterised the events leading to her government’s fall as a calculated coup, asserting that the initial student protests were deliberately hijacked by a “violent mob of radical agitators" to create a state of lawlessness. She maintains that the full scale of the conspiracy only became clear after she was forced to leave the country.

Hasina, in an exclusive interview with CNN-News18’s Manoj Gupta, pointed directly to the actions of the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, as irrefutable proof of a preconceived plan to overthrow her administration. She highlighted two key actions: the decision by Yunus to grant immunity to “all the perpetrators of last summer’s violence" and the subsequent dissolution of the inquiry her government had set up to investigate the cause of the upheaval.

According to Hasina, the rapidity of the transition—"the speed with which Yunus seized power, the immediate immunity granted to perpetrators, and the dissolution of our judicial inquiry"—all indicate a “premeditated nature of this coup". She concluded that either Yunus himself was preparing to seize power, or those who installed him were operating with a clear strategy.

Regarding her departure, Hasina stated that leaving Bangladesh was purely “a matter of survival," stressing that remaining would have put not only her own life in danger but also the lives of those associated with her. Her statement frames her exit as a sacrifice made for safety, rather than an abandonment of her post.

Manoj Gupta

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

News world Leaving Dhaka Was Matter Of Survival; Yunus’s Immunity To Perpetrators Exposed Pre-Planned Coup: Sheikh Hasina | Exclusive

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