Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, on Wednesday (August 5), claimed that Bangladesh has "become another Pakistan" and said the situation should worry India. He made the remarks ahead of Hasina's first public address from New Delhi, two years after she was removed from power. Joy also alleged that foreign intelligence agencies, particularly Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), are operating freely in Bangladesh.

Speaking before Hasina's virtual address, Joy said the current situation in Bangladesh has created serious security concerns for India. He stated, "What should concern India most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern front. You have another Pakistan today on your eastern front." He further claimed, "Foreign intelligence service, especially ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence], has an open hand."

Joy also questioned the reported death toll during the July-August 2024 protests in Bangladesh and pointed out differences between the figures released by the United Nations and those shared by the previous Muhammad Yunus-led administration. According to him, the numbers do not match and require clarification.

He said, "First of all, you have heard again and again about the deaths during July on this protest of 2024. You have various counts on the numbers. You have the UN number of 1,400, whereas the government number is 800-something. Who are these additional 600 people? Where did the UN get those names?"

Joy added that his party and its legal team have repeatedly approached the United Nations seeking the names of those included in its reported figures. He stated, "Our party has written to the UN. Our lawyers have written to the UN again and again. And today the UN has not provided any names."

He also argued that the UN report covered only the period until August 15, 2024, while deaths continued after that date. Joy urged the international media to examine the issue more closely. He said, "But more importantly, the UN only covers a period up to August 15 of 2024, but we know that the deaths continue, and what is most alarming, and this is something that I believe that the press, the international press, should really, really pay attention to."

Joy also criticised the Yunus-led interim government over what he described as legal protection granted to protesters accused of killings. He alleged that one of the government's earliest actions was to introduce an ordinance that later became law. According to him, the legislation gave blanket immunity to all protesters, preventing legal action against them.

He said, "You see, the Yunus regime, one of the first things they did was pass an ordinance which became law, called the Indemnity Bill, indemnifying all the protesters, everyone, blanket immunity, protecting them from any prosecution for any killings, that includes killings of civilians, that includes killings of our party members, and that includes killings of police officers."

Calling the move unprecedented, Joy said, "This is unprecedented. How can you have blanket legal protection for killings by anyone, especially killing the police officers? This is unprecedented. This is completely against all human rights, against all norms of decency."

He further alleged that thousands of people have remained in jail since August 2024. He claimed many of them belong to the Awami League and have not received a fair legal process. Joy also alleged that several elderly detainees have died while in police custody.

He said, "Secondly, what you have had since August of 2024, you have had tens of thousands of people behind bars, which are all now, on one hand, most of them, many of them are Awami members and leaders. Most of them are being held without any trial, without any due process, without any bail. Many of them are elderly in their 80s. Their health is failing. Many of them have died in police custody."

Sheikh Hasina delivered her virtual address during an event organised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) of South Asia in New Delhi. During her speech, she rejected the claims surrounding the 2024 protests and said her government had made repeated efforts to resolve the situation peacefully through dialogue.

Hasina said she had personally contacted the protesting students and invited their representatives to the Prime Minister's residence for talks. She stated, "July and August 2024 were not a peaceful student movement from the very beginning. We tried to resolve the situation through dialogue and a peaceful process."

She also claimed that the quota protests later turned into a political campaign aimed at removing her elected government from power. According to Hasina, organised political groups played a role in destabilising the country. She said, "Organised political groups were working to destabilise the country."

Hasina lost power on August 5, 2024, after a student-led protest movement. She travelled to India following her removal and has stayed there since then. Muhammad Yunus later assumed charge as Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government. Elections were held in February this year.

Meanwhile, India clarified that it had no role in organising Hasina's media interaction. Responding to questions during his bi-weekly media briefing on Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government was not associated with the event.

Jaiswal stated, "The interaction you refer to is being organised by a private media entity. The government has no involvement whatsoever in it, nor does it endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum." His statement came a day before Hasina's virtual address in New Delhi.