Sheikh Hasina may return but will not regain power: Sohel Taj

Former State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, son of Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad, has said that even if former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returns to Bangladesh, she will not return to power but will instead face imprisonment.

In a post published on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday (5 August), Sohel Taj said he had recently heard that Hasina was talking about returning to the country.

"She may return, and that is her choice. But my question is how shameless a person must be to deny all of her alleged actions and continue misleading both the people and her party by promoting what I believe is an unrealistic dream of returning," he wrote in the post.

In his post, Sohel Taj accused Hasina of denying allegations including mass killings, enforced disappearances, murders, corruption, undermining democracy, misusing the spirit of the Liberation War for political interests, betraying the country and its people, destroying the Awami League, and laundering vast sums of money abroad. These allegations have not been established in a court of law, and Hasina has consistently denied wrongdoing.

He further claimed that, instead of acknowledging mistakes, expressing remorse or engaging in self-criticism, Hasina was advancing what he described as a false conspiracy narrative, which he said was driving the Awami League towards destruction and pushing the country into a dark future.

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Referring to historical examples, Sohel Taj argued that it was almost impossible for authoritarian rulers removed from power to return successfully. He cited Brazil's Getúlio Vargas, Byzantine Emperor Justinian II and Mexico's Antonio López de Santa Anna as rare examples of leaders who regained power after being deposed.

He noted, however, that those leaders had been removed through military coups rather than popular uprisings.

"So, Sheikh Hasina may return to Bangladesh, but she will not return to power—she will go to jail," he concluded.