January 18, 2025: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged a conspiracy to assassinate her and her sister, Rehana, following the student-led protests that led to her resignation from power on August 5, 2024.
In an audio message posted on the official Facebook page of the Bangladesh Awami League late Friday, Hasina claimed she narrowly escaped death by "20-25 minutes" on that day, adding that it was not the first attempt on her life.
"Rehana and I survived – just 20-25 minutes apart, we escaped death," she said in the recording. Hasina recounted earlier life-threatening incidents, including the August 21 grenade attack in 2004 and a bomb planted in Kotalipara in 2000, and attributed her survival to divine intervention.
“I just feel that surviving the killings on August 21, or surviving the huge bomb in Kotalipara, surviving on this time August 5, 2024, there must be a will of Allah, a hand of Allah. Otherwise, I'm not going to survive this time. You later saw how they planned to kill me,” Hasina stated.
The former leader described her survival as “the mercy of Allah” and suggested that her continued existence signals a divine purpose. “Allah wants me to do something more,” she remarked, without specifying further details about her future plans.
Sheikh Hasina, a prominent political figure in Bangladesh, led the country through several turbulent periods during her tenure. Her claims are expected to spark significant political and public reactions, adding further complexities to the already volatile political landscape of Bangladesh.