July 22, 2024: ‘Sheikh Hasina does not flee’

Addressing rumours that she had fled the country, then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina told nearly 450 business leaders gathered at her office on July 22, 2024, “Sheikh Hasina does not flee”.

Amid the ongoing July uprising, she said the situation would return to normal soon as the curfew imposed on July 20 was being gradually relaxed.

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“I want to improve the situation quickly, and we have already been able to calm down the situation,” she said.

Even as she sought to reassure the business leaders, Hasina warned that the government would not spare the “BNP-Jamaat clique” this time, accusing them of trying to carry out terrorist activities during the curfew.

She also described Islami Chhatra Shibir as a militant organisation involved in planned acts of destruction.

She alleged that “convicted criminal” Tarique Rahman was behind the violence, claiming he had previously tried to kill her in a grenade attack and had now ordered the unrest.

The business leaders present -- including FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam, BGMEA President SM Mannan Kochi and BAB President Nazrul Islam Majumder -- pledged their “unflinching support” for the then-Awami League government. They also placed three demands: restoration of normal business activities, restoration of internet services, and normal transport of essential goods.

The same day, Hasina approved a gazette notification retaining a 7 percent quota in government jobs, in line with the Supreme Court’s directive.

Meanwhile, the scale of the violence became clearer. According to The Daily Star’s count, at least 146 people had been killed nationwide since July 18. The BTV headquarters, two metro rail stations and scores of vehicles had been vandalised or set on fire, while more than 1,000 people had been arrested over the violence.

The United Nations, on the same day, also expressed concern over the Bangladesh Army’s use of armoured vehicles marked “UN” during operations to suppress the protests.

Echoing Hasina’s remarks, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said normalcy would return soon with everyone’s cooperation.

“We think the situation has started to improve within 48 hours of the deployment,” he told reporters after inspecting different parts of the city, thanking the media for its “objective coverage”.

Calling the destruction of public property “incomprehensible”, he said it was too early to estimate the cost of recovery.

“Give us a little time. We have been here for only 48 hours,” he said, adding that the movement of essential supplies through Jatrabari -- blocked for four to five days -- had resumed, including aviation fuel deliveries to Dhaka airport.