Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carrying Sheikh Hasina lands in Hindon

Hasina resigned following unprecedented public protests calling for the ouster of her government and left her official residence in a military chopper shortly before the complex was stormed by protesters.

Published on: Aug 5, 2024, 19:36:38 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carrying former prime minister Sheikh Hasina landed at Hindon airbase near Ghaziabad on Monday and is expected to travel to London shortly, people familiar with the matter said.

Hasina, 76, resigned following unprecedented public protests calling for the ouster of her government and left Ganabhavan, or the prime minister’s official residence, in a military helicopter shortly before the complex was stormed by protesters.

The helicopter ferried Hasina and her small entourage, including her sister Sheikh Rehana, to a military airbase where the group boarded a C-130 transport aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

The Indian side agreed to a request from the Bangladesh side for the aircraft to use Indian airspace and the C-130 landed at Hindon airbase late on Monday afternoon and was received by Indian Air Force (IAF) officials, the people said. Hindon is also the base for the IAF’s C-130 aircraft.

Hasina, Bangladesh’s long-serving premier, is expected to travel to London in a commercial flight though it was unclear how long her stopover in the Indian capital would be, the people said. Her daughter, Saima Wazed, the South Asia regional director of the World Health Organization, is based in New Delhi.

There was no official word from the external affairs ministry or the Indian Air Force regarding the Bangladesh Air Force flight or Hasina’s decision to travel to India after fleeing from Dhaka.

The Indian government has so far not commented on the protests that have rocked Bangladesh since last month, describing them as an “internal matter” of the country. Bangladesh has been the biggest beneficiary of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy, with billions of dollars being poured into development projects and creation of physical connectivity, including rail and bus services.

Hasina also cultivated close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with both leaders often referring to the current phase of bilateral relations as a ‘Shonali Odhyay’, or golden chapter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More