Bangladesh unrest: Do ISI, China have a hand in conspiracy to oust Sheikh Hasina? Here's what we know

Nearly after a month of anti-reservation protests stormed Bangladesh, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the conflict-torn nation. India's neighbour is now on the edge as it awaits the formation of a new government. At least 100 people lost their lives due to the chaos and uncertainty that gripped Bangladesh after one of its tallest leaders left. 

Are China and ISI behind the sudden regime change in Bangladesh? Well, intelligence reports suggest that the blueprint for Operation Regime Change, implemented in Bangladesh, was drafted in London in collaboration with Pakistan's ISI. 

Bangladeshi officials claimed that they have evidence of meetings between Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairperson Tarique Rahman and ISI officials in Saudi Arabia. The Pakistani Army and ISI wanted to destabilise Sheikh Hasina's government and stall the BNP into power. 

Jamaat-e-Islami's involvement

Moreover, student protests against reservation in government jobs, that led Hasina to quit, turned into a wider political movement to topple her government. Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) is the main architect of the student protests and the chaos that unfolded thereafter.

Over the last 2 years, many ICS cadres were admitted into various Bangladeshi universities. This gave the ICS the opportunity to instigate students. The main centres of the ICS are Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, Jahangir University, and Sylhet University.

BNP and its affiliated accounts, including its media cell and student wing, manufactured most of the posts against the Awami League, videos of violence against protestors and posters demonising Sheikh Hasina, as per intelligence reports. Many of these posts are also being amplified by US-based accounts. 

A significant portion of the funding received by ICS is believed to have originated from Chinese entities operating in Pakistan, as per sources. 

Bangladesh new interim government

Meanwhile, student protestors in the country have called for the formation of an interim government in the country, with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief advisor. The protestors also said that they would not accept any army-supported or army-led government. 

Khaleda Zia might stake her claim to the top post in Bangladesh. She is the chairperson of the BNP, main opposition in the country. Zia served as the Prime Minster of the country from 1991 to 1996 but was incarcertated in 2018 on charges of corruption.

The 78-year-old BNP chairperson was released from imprisonment soon after Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh. There is also a chance of Jamaat-e-Islami entering an Islamist coalition with the BNP and forming the government. 

(With inputs from Shivani Sharma)