Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has claimed that there was a conspiracy to kill her and her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana, immediately after she was ousted from power. “Rehana and I survived—just 20-25 minutes apart, we escaped death,” Hasina said in an emotionally charged audio message shared on the official Facebook page of her Bangladesh Awami League party on Friday evening.
In August last year, a massive student-led movement forced Hasina out of office after weeks of violent protests and clashes that claimed over 600 lives. Hasina, 76, fled to India, and an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was installed.
Reflecting on her tumultuous political career, Hasina recalled multiple assassination attempts against her. “There were conspiracies to kill me at various times,” she said. She described her survival as an act of divine intervention, referencing specific incidents, including the 2004 grenade attack in Dhaka and the Kotalipara bomb plot in 2000.
“I believe Allah’s will has saved me repeatedly,” she said. “Surviving the August 21 grenade attack, the massive bomb in Kotalipara, or the assassination attempt on August 5, 2024—there must be a hand of Allah in all of this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived.”
Hasina added tearfully, “Though I am alive, I have lost my country, my home—everything has been burned. It is only Allah’s mercy that I am still here, perhaps because He wants me to fulfill a greater purpose.”
One of the deadliest attempts on Hasina’s life occurred on August 21, 2004, at an anti-terrorism rally organized by the Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka. As the then-leader of the opposition, Hasina addressed a crowd of 20,000 from the back of a truck. Minutes after her speech concluded, grenades were hurled into the crowd, killing 24 people and injuring over 500. Hasina sustained minor injuries in the attack, which remains a dark chapter in the country’s political history.
Another assassination attempt referenced by Hasina was the Kotalipara bomb plot. On July 21, 2000, a 76kg bomb was discovered near Sheikh Lutfor Rahman Ideal College in Kotalipara, where Hasina, then the opposition leader and Awami League president, was scheduled to speak the following day. Two days later, a 40kg bomb was also recovered from the area. Security forces later revealed that the bombs were part of a meticulously planned assassination attempt.
Despite surviving multiple assassination plots, Sheikh Hasina continues to face political challenges and personal loss. Her emotional recounting of these events underscores her resilience and determination. “You saw how they planned to kill me, but Allah had other plans,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.
Currently living in exile, Hasina remains a central figure in Bangladeshi politics and a symbol of perseverance amid adversity.
