According to police, a group targeted Shakib’s ancestral residence in Magura town, located around 170 km (105 miles) southwest of Dhaka, on Wednesday, igniting a fire on the upper floor of the house. At the time, the property was empty, and no injuries were reported.
Reuters was unable to obtain a comment from Shakib regarding the assault.
The attack took place just hours after Shakib, a former Awami League lawmaker, participated in a virtual event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi. During his audio address, Hasina reinforced her commitment to return to Bangladesh, despite having been sentenced to death.
Shakib, an Awami League candidate elected to parliament in January 2024, has remained outside of Bangladesh since the student-led uprising that overthrew Hasina’s administration. He is under investigation for several serious charges, including murder, embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering.
“I will return to my people,” Hasina declared. “I recognize that they may imprison me or even take my life, but I must go back.”
This event marked the second anniversary of her ousting and was her first public interaction with the media since she left Bangladesh in 2024.
Hasina also called for the lifting of the ban on the Awami League, the party she has led for over four decades, which has been prohibited from engaging in political activities since her removal.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry denounced Hasina’s media appearance as “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and cautioned that her addressing the media from India could negatively affect bilateral relations.
At 78 years old, Hasina has been residing in New Delhi since August 2024. Bangladesh has requested her extradition from India, which stated that the request is under review according to its legal procedures.
In November 2025, the nation’s war crimes tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia for her role in the deadly suppression of the 2024 student-led uprising, charges she has dismissed as politically motivated.
