DHAKA (GNP): Former Bangladesh cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan’s ancestral home in Magura town was attacked Wednesday, hours after he joined ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s first public media appearance since her removal from power in 2024, police said.
Police said a group of people attacked the residence, located about 170 kilometres southwest of Dhaka, smashing windows and hurling petrol bombs that started a fire on the upper floor of the property. The home was unoccupied at the time and no injuries were reported. Reuters said it was unable to reach Shakib for comment following the attack.
The attack came hours after Shakib, a former Awami League lawmaker, took part in a virtual event organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, during which Hasina reiterated her intention to return to Bangladesh despite having been sentenced to death in the country. Shakib, elected to parliament as an Awami League candidate in January 2024, has remained outside Bangladesh since the student-led uprising that toppled Hasina’s government, and he continues to face multiple investigations, including allegations of murder, embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.
During the event, held on the second anniversary of her ouster and marking her first public interaction with media since fleeing the country, Hasina said she was prepared to return regardless of the risk to her safety, telling the audience she expected to face possible imprisonment or worse but felt compelled to go back to her people. She also called for the ban on the Awami League, the party she led for more than four decades, to be lifted after it was barred from political activity following her removal.
Also Read: Bodies of Nirmal Purja and Team Recovered from Broad Peak
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry condemned Hasina’s appearance, describing it as an affront to the country’s sovereignty and warning that allowing her to address international media from India could damage bilateral relations.
Hasina, 78, has been living in New Delhi since August 2024, and Bangladesh has sought her extradition, a request India says remains under legal review. In November 2025, Bangladesh’s war crimes tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia over the deadly crackdown on the 2024 uprising, charges she has rejected as politically motivated.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
