Bangladesh Crisis: Ex–Foreign Minister Makes Explosive Charge
Former Bangladesh foreign minister Hasan Mahmud at Press Club of India. (Image X.com)
Former Bangladesh foreign minister Mahmud alleges sniper killings, manipulated UN reports and a one-sided election under the Yunus regime.
By NIRENDRA DEV
New Delhi, January 18, 2026 — Is Bangladesh witnessing a manufactured narrative of chaos—one aided by foreign hands and international complicity? That question took centre stage in New Delhi on Saturday when former Bangladesh foreign minister Hasan Mahmud addressed a rare and explosive press conference, launching a frontal attack on the interim Yunus regime and the United Nations.
Mahmud alleged that many of those killed during the 2024 unrest in Bangladesh died from sniper fire using weapons of a calibre not possessed by Bangladeshi security forces. The implication was unmistakable: foreign or hostile elements may have orchestrated targeted killings to discredit the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government and justify regime change.
“Our last hope was the UN, but we were failed,” Mahmud said, accusing the UNHCR of abandoning due process. He claimed that UN High Commissioner Volker Türk issued a report on Bangladesh without a UN Security Council mandate, allegedly at the request of the Yunus administration. Mahmud stressed that no stakeholders were consulted and questioned the authenticity of the data used.
In a startling claim, he said several individuals listed as “killed” in official gazettes released by the Yunus regime were later found alive—raising doubts about the credibility of casualty figures. Speaking alongside Golam Maruf Majumdar Nijhoom of the International Crimes Research Foundation, Mahmud said the Awami League was compiling a detailed dossier on killings and rights violations under the current dispensation.
The former minister painted a grim picture of Bangladesh today: hundreds of journalists arrested on flimsy charges, media houses and cultural institutions attacked, nearly one lakh Awami League workers jailed, and minorities allegedly subjected to systematic violence since the “illegal regime” took over.
Mahmud also dismissed the upcoming Bangladesh elections as a sham. Calling them “arranged” and “one-sided,” he argued that the Awami League—commanding nearly 60% popular support—has been deliberately excluded from the contest.
Most damningly, he accused the UNHCR of ignoring mass violence against police and Awami League members. Nearly 3,000 police personnel were allegedly killed, including one incident where an entire police station with 40 officers was burned alive—atrocities, Mahmud said, missing from international reports.
If true, these allegations suggest not just a political crisis, but a dangerous rewriting of Bangladesh’s recent history.
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