'Concerns India': Sheikh Hasina's Son Says Bangladesh Becoming "Another Pakistan"

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and a senior Awami League leader, has warned that Bangladesh has descended into what he called a "failed state" and could become a breeding ground for regional terrorism unless the international community intervenes.

Speaking virtually from Maryland in the United States during an address at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in New Delhi on Wednesday, Joy claimed that foreign intelligence agencies, particularly Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), now operate with what he called "an open hand" in the country.

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He alleged that hundreds of convicted terrorists - men previously arrested and jailed under the Awami League government - have since been released from prison. He further claimed that banned groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir now march openly and that individuals linked to al-Qaeda have addressed public rallies.

"What should concern India most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern side. You have another Pakistan today on your eastern front... al-Qaeda operatives are speaking at public rallies. This is what is happening in Bangladesh, and this does not portend well for India or the world at large," he told the gathering, framing this as a direct security concern for New Delhi.

"In the future, the next generation of global terrorists is going to come from Bangladesh unless this is stopped," he added, and appealed directly to the Indian media to give the issue sustained coverage rather than treating it as an occasional headline.

VIDEO | Delhi: "What should concern India most is that Bangladesh has become another Pakistan on India's eastern side. You have another Pakistan today on your eastern front... Al-Qaeda operatives are speaking at public rallies. This is what is happening in Bangladesh, and this… pic.twitter.com/fVYwDUd0RR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 5, 2026

Joy's remarks come roughly six months after Bangladesh's parliamentary elections, in which the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, won a decisive majority and formed a government following the end of Muhammad Yunus's interim administration.

The Awami League, which Yunus's caretaker government had banned from political activity and barred from contesting the election, remains excluded from the political process - a point Joy raised repeatedly to argue that the vote could not be considered fully representative.

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Beyond the security warning, Joy raised several other grievances. He disputed the death count from the July-August 2024 protests that led to Hasina's ouster, noting a gap of roughly 600 between United Nations estimates (around 1,400) and the government's figure (around 800), and said the UN had not responded to repeated requests from Awami League lawyers for the names behind the higher count.

He also criticised what he called an "Indemnity Bill," passed under the Yunus administration and since ratified by the BNP government, which he said grants blanket immunity to protesters - including for killings of police officers, civilians and Awami League members - while leaving no path to prosecute those deaths.

Joy also alleged that thousands of Awami League members and sympathisers, including elderly former officials, have been held in custody for extended periods without trial or bail, some dying in custody under circumstances he described as extrajudicial killings.

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He said party members continue to be targeted and killed outside prison "every few weeks" without police action. He additionally claimed that journalists, editors and media owners perceived as sympathetic to the Awami League have remained jailed for over two years, and alleged that intelligence officials visited Indian media houses ahead of Wednesday's event to discourage coverage.

Joy warned that Bangladesh's economy, already strained, is at risk of "total collapse" under what he called continued mismanagement and predicted the country's political trajectory, including future elections, would remain skewed in the ruling party's favour.

Joy's remarks reflect the Awami League's perspective on events since Hasina's August 2024 ouster and have not been independently verified.

The BNP-led government, Yunus's former interim administration and Bangladeshi authorities have not yet responded to the specific claims made at Wednesday's event, and dispute the Awami League's broader characterisation of the political situation.