The glass doors of former Bangladesh cricket captain Shakib Al Hasan's home in Magura town were smashed and firebombs thrown on Wednesday evening, just hours after he took part in an online event that included a speech by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to police, a group of people attacked Shakib's ancestral home in Magura town, about 170 kilometers southwest of the capital Dhaka. The attack sparked a fire on the upper floor of the house. The house was unoccupied at the time of the incident, and no casualties were reported.
Shakib, a former lawmaker of the Awami League party, joined an online event organized by the South Asian Foreign Correspondents' Club in New Delhi. In an audio speech, Hasina said she would return to Bangladesh, where she has been sentenced to death in absentia.
Shakib was elected to parliament as an Awami League candidate in January 2024. He has remained outside Bangladesh since the student-led uprising that toppled Hasina's government. He currently faces multiple investigations, including allegations related to murder, embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering.
Speaking at the event, held exactly two years after her ouster, Hasina said: "I will return to my people. I know they might jail me or kill me, but I must go back." This was her first public interaction with the media since leaving Bangladesh in 2024. She also called for the lifting of the ban on the Awami League—the party she led for more than four decades—after it was proscribed from political activity.
Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Hasina's media appearance, calling it "an insult to Bangladesh's sovereignty" and warning that allowing her to speak from India could harm bilateral relations. Hasina, 78, has been living in New Delhi since August 2024. Bangladesh has requested her extradition from India; Indian authorities have said the request is being reviewed under legal procedures.
In November 2025, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia in connection with the deadly crackdown during the 2024 student-led uprising. Hasina has dismissed the charges, calling them politically motivated.
