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The verdict hardly surprised any. The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh has faced criticism for lack of independence. The trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is now in exile in India, and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, was concluded at unprecedented speed. The mood in the power circles of Dhaka was that Ms. Hasina was guilty. The tribunal found her and Mr. Khan guilty of crimes against humanity over the state crackdown on the student uprising of July-August 2024 that led to her forced resignation. Both of them were sentenced to death, while Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, the Former Inspector General of Police (IGP), who testified before the tribunal against Ms. Hasina and Mr. Khan, was sentenced to five years. For a detailed breakdown of the verdict, see our report from Dhaka here.
The interim government and the political parties that support the dispensation have welcomed the verdict, which came just months before the scheduled elections. For Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Advisor of the elected government, the “verdict resonates across the nation and beyond”. The Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami which got its ban removed after Ms. Hasina’s government fell, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition party that boycotted polls during Mr. Hasina’s time and the frontrunner in the scheduled February elections, have welcomed the verdict. Some student protesters held a rally in Dhaka university calling for the execution of Ms. Hasina. Another mob drove excavators to the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Bangladesh, to demolish what was left of his home. On the other side, the Awami League, Ms. Hasina’s party, has rejected the verdict, calling it politically motivated. The party had called a two-day shutdown ahead of the verdict which saw violent incidents. According to Ms. Hasina, the charges against her were unjustified. “We lost control of the situation, but to characterise what happened as a premeditated assault on citizens is simply to misread the facts,” she said on Monday in a statement after the verdict. “I mourn all of the deaths that occurred in July and August of last year, on both sides of the political divide. But neither I nor other political leaders ordered the killing of protesters.”
What do we know about the International Crimes Tribunal that sentenced the former Prime Minister to death? Read this profile by Kallol Bhattacherjee.
The verdict could complicate further India’s relationship with Bangladesh as Ms. Hasina is living in India. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement shortly after the ruling was announced, urging India to hand over Ms. Hasina and Mr. Khan. “We urge the government of India to immediately extradite the two convicts to the Bangladeshi authorities,” the Ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “an obligatory responsibility for India”. It also warned that “granting asylum to these convicts… would be extremely unfriendly and an affront to justice.” India’s response was measured. “India has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement which put the ICT in quote marks. “As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” it added, signalling that it is not going to pick one side over the other as Bangladesh’s faultlines are deepening.
Power grab in Pakistan
If Sheikh Hasina, an India-friendly former Prime Minister, was sentenced to death in Bangladesh, in Pakistan, a hardline general with strong anti-India sentiments has grabbed more power through a constitutional amendment. The 27 amendment, passed on November 13, rewrites Article 243 of Pakistan’s Constitution, introducing a post — Chief of Defence Forces, who will exercise authority over the Army, Navy and Air Force; the army chief will also serve as the Chief of Defence Forces. It also creates the post of Commander of the National Strategic Command, to oversee nuclear and strategic assets. The commander will be appointed by the Prime Minister on the Army chief’s recommendation. Most strikingly, the amendment offers life-long immunity from criminal proceedings to any officer elevated to a five-star rank — currently, Gen. Asim Munir — as well as the President. Five-star officers will remain in uniform for life and can be removed only through an impeachment-like process under Article 47. In effect, Gen. Munir will be the new centralised power centre in the establishment. The amendment also strips the Supreme Court of its authority to interpret the Constitution, establishing a new constitutional court whose judges will be appointed by the government. What does the amendment mean for Pakistan and how did the country reach here? Read this profile of the amendment by Stanly Johny. In this editorial, The Hindu writes, “the story of the rise of Pakistan’s military strongmen typically ends with their eventual downfall. His power grab comes at a time when the country is fighting an insurgency in the tribal areas. Relations with India and Afghanistan are at a low. Imran Khan’s PTI continues to challenge the ‘hybrid’ civil-military rule from the streets. And the economy is in chronic distress. Gen. Munir’s response to these challenges was to stage an indirect coup using supine politicians. It could backfire sooner rather than later.”
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Published – November 18, 2025 05:47 pm IST
