Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was safely escorted to India following her resignation amid political turmoil. Security measures were stringent, involving the Indian Air Force and top officials. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met her upon arrival, and an interim government was announced in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to fly out of her country after she submitted her resignation amid massive protests and mounting deaths in the violence.
As Bangladesh faced political upheaval, India had to act swiftly to ensure the safety of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as she left her country. Security agencies prepared for all eventualities as Hasina headed towards India in a Bangladesh Air Guard jet. Hasina flew by chopper to a Bangladesh Air Guard base and boarded the C-130J military transport aircraft.
How did India know two hours in advance that Hasina was about to resign and head to India using the Bangladesh Air Guard’s jet?
To answer this question, we need to know who was in close contact with Sheikh Hasina in the last 45 minutes.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was asked to leave within 45 minutes by the top brass of the security establishment led by General Waker-uz-Zaman, and she was convinced by her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy on the telephone to step down from the PM’s post, a Bangladesh media report said on Tuesday.
Indian Air Force escorted Sheikh Hasina
Around 2:30 pm on 5th August, Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, left by military aircraft for India. Around 3 pm on 5th August, Indian Air Force radars detected a low-flying aircraft approaching the Indian border from Bangladesh, according to a report by the Times of India. Aware of the high-profile passenger onboard, air defence personnel allowed the aircraft to enter the Indian airspace. To provide security, Two Rafale fighter jets from the 101 squadron at Hashimara air base in West Bengal were deployed over Bihar and Jharkhand, according to ANI.
The officials of the Indian Air Force and other agencies of the Government of India received her after the aircraft, which had Hasina, Rehana, and others close to the family onboard, landed at the airbase in Hindon.
The aircraft followed its designated flight path, closely monitored by ground agencies, with constant.
Communication between the Bangladesh Air Guard’s C-130 aircraft and top Indian security officials. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and General Upendra Dwivedi, the chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Army, respectively, closely monitored the situation.
General Waker-uz-Zaman, a national security risk for Bangladesh
General Upendra Dwivedi said the covert cooperation between the security agencies of India and Bangladesh resulted in Sheikh Hasina’s safe departure, which means General Waker-uz-Zaman communicated with Indian officials. General Waker-uz-Zaman is related to Sheikh Hasina by marrying Hasina’s cousin.
General Waker-uz-Zaman is a national security risk, a significant national security risk of espionage, for example, acquiring information for a foreign power such as India and foreign interference such as allowing Indian covert activity designed to malign Bangladesh’s interests.
A high-level meeting was held with intelligence agency chiefs General Dwivedi, and Lieutenant General Johnson Philip Mathew, the Integrated Defence Staff chief.
As Hasina’s jet landed at Hindan Air Base around 5:45 p.m. on August 5th, she was greeted by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. They held an hour-long meeting, discussing Bangladesh’s current situation and her plans. Doval then briefed the Cabinet Committee of Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had been kept informed throughout the day.
Bangladesh plunged into chaos following Hasina’s resignation and departure from the country. Her resignation came after a violent crackdown on protests that had grown from demonstrations against employment quotas into a full-fledged movement demanding her ouster.
Hasina is living in Gandhi Park near Indian air base
As news of Hasina’s exit spread, volatile crowds took to the streets, with some vandalizing the statue of her father and Bangladesh’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“They remembered my younger brother [Sheikh Russell] mostly,” Sheikh Hasina recounted in the interview.
In Delhi, Hasina first lived at 56 Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar-3, then shifted to a house in Lutyens Delhi’s Pandara Road.
Hasina still remembers those days and remains thankful to India and the Gandhi family. She mostly meets members of the Gandhi family whenever she is in India. Hasina now lives in Gandhi Park near Hindan Air Base.
India still maintains influence in Bangladesh through General Waker-uz-Zaman.
In an address to the nation, army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that an interim government would be formed and that he had met with members of most political parties, taking full responsibility for the country.
Bangladesh is not just any neighbouring country for India. Maintaining a close relationship with Bangladesh is a strategic necessity for India’s border security, particularly in the northeastern states.
The two countries share a porous border 4,096km (2,545 miles) long, which makes it relatively easy for armed insurgent groups from India’s northeastern states to cross into Bangladesh for a safe haven.
While border security is at the core of the relationship, there are also financial aspects. During Ms Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule, trade relations and connectivity between the two countries flourished. India has gained road, river, and train access via Bangladesh to transport goods to its northeastern states.
With Ms Hasina’s fall, Delhi’s “neighbourhood first” policy has received another jolt, with Bangladesh joining the Maldives and Nepal in resisting any attempt by India to dominate.
Analysts say Delhi can’t afford to lose its influence in another neighbouring country if it wants to protect its status as a regional powerhouse – wildly as rival China is also jostling for influence in the region.
Just last year, Mohamed Muizzu won the presidency in the Maldives on the back of his very public anti-India stand.
“It doesn’t matter how she is accorded hospitality in India. But it matters to Bangladeshis how she intervenes in the domestic matters staying over there. If she speaks against the current interim government, that would be considered an act of hostility,” Mr Bhattacharya warned.
As long as Hasina lives in India, Sheikh Hasina will remain India’s conundrum for its relationship with Bangladesh. India cannot let Hasina go anywhere as it wants to maintain its grip on power in Bangladesh through disruption of political means and sabotage in foreign policy, infrastructure projects and military procurement now and in the future.
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