Dhaka, Nov 20: Bangladesh experienced a calm yet tense atmosphere on Wednesday, with security forces maintaining strict vigilance in major cities following the Awami League’s call for nationwide protests in response to the death sentence issued to its leader and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.In urban centers like Dhaka, normalcy in traffic and daily activities appeared to resume as violence remained absent for the second consecutive day.
Nonetheless, armed police, Rapid Action Battalion members, and paramilitary forces conducted intensive patrols around government facilities, party offices, and key intersections, especially in light of the Awami League’s planned three-day demonstrations starting November 19.
The Awami League characterized the verdict against Hasina as “politically motivated,” labeling it “malicious, retaliatory, and vengeful.”
This assertion came through a statement on social media, advocating for a total shutdown on Tuesday and nationwide demonstrations throughout the designated period.
Despite this unrest, no immediate violence was reported, although several areas of the capital remained secured with checkpoints and barricades.
In Gazipur city, a fire was reported at a warehouse belonging to a Jubo Dal leader, raising questions about whether it resulted from an accident or potential sabotage.
The Jubo Dal is the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has gained prominence in the wake of Hasina’s ousted Awami League party.
Concurrently, police conducted extensive security operations, resulting in the arrest of 1,649 individuals across the nation over Monday and Tuesday, alongside the confiscation of ten firearms, 30.5 kg of gunpowder, ammunition, and cocktail bombs.
Sheikh Hasina, aged 78, was sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal for “crimes against humanity” related to her government’s severe crackdown on student-led protests last year.
The tribunal also sentenced former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal under similar charges. Hasina has been residing in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5 last year due to escalating protests.
She has dismissed the accusations as “biased and politically motivated,” condemning the ruling as a product of a “rigged tribunal” set up by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate.”