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Nine months after the fall of the Awami League government in the July Uprising, the party’s General Secretary Obaidul Quader has spoken publicly for the first time.
In an interview with Indian news outlet The Wall News, Quader, one of the most senior figures in the ousted administration, recounted how he and his wife hid in a bathroom for five hours on Aug 5, 2024, the day the regime was toppled.
According to Quader, he stayed in Bangladesh for about three months after that before crossing into India. However, he did not explain how he was able to flee the country while many fellow Awami League leaders were arrested during that period.
Quader said he dreams of returning to Bangladesh one day and sees a future where the Awami League regains power. However, he does not feel any need to apologise for what happened under the party’s rule, including the violent crackdown during the mass uprising.
Both Quader and ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina face arrest warrants from the International Crimes Tribunal, accused of crimes against humanity linked to the state’s suppression of the student-led protests.
The interim government has since banned all activities of the Awami League until tribunal proceedings conclude, effectively outlawing the party. As general secretary, Quader is now a fugitive, with hundreds of murder charges pending against him.
The interview was conducted by Amal Sarkar, executive editor of The Wall News, and marks the first time Quader has spoken to the media since the fall of Hasina’s administration, where he served as minister for road transport and bridges.
'I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE'
In the interview, Quader described the July-August uprising as a “conspiratorial student revolt”.
“I was very lucky,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to survive that day. I came very close to death.”
He recalled how, after fleeing his residence in Dhaka’s Parliament area, he and his wife took shelter in a nearby house as protesters besieged the neighbourhood.
“At first, the rallies were focused around Gonobhaban [Hasina's official residence], but then they spilled into the Parliament area. It was shocking,” he said. “This wasn’t a political uprising -- it was an uprising of looting.”
Quader said the protesters looted his home, unaware that he had already left. But to his disbelief, they also attacked the house where he and his wife were hiding.
“Eventually they stormed in and began destroying things. We locked ourselves in the bathroom. We stayed there for nearly five hours. They even started looting the bathroom, ripping out the commode and the sink.”
He continued, “My wife stood at the bathroom door, repeatedly telling them I was very ill and trying to hold them off. At one point, they threatened to break the door down.”
“When my wife asked what to do, I told her to open it. Seven or eight young men entered aggressively. They stared at me and said, ‘The leader has fled, why haven’t you?’ I said nothing.”
Then something unexpected happened, according to the former minister. "One of them said, ‘Let’s take his picture.’ Suddenly they were taking selfies and photos with me. Some recognised me as a political figure. Their tone shifted and they started speaking calmly.”
Still, tensions remained. “Some wanted to hand me over to the Army. Others wanted to turn me over to the mob. Mentally, I was breaking down.”
'DISGUISED AND HELPED BY STRANGERS'
Asked how he escaped, Quader described an almost cinematic exit.
“They gave me one of their shirts, pinned on a red-flag badge, and put a black mask over my face. Then they walked my wife and me through the Parliament area towards the Gonobhaban road.”
“Out of nowhere, an empty easy bike (autorickshaw) showed up. There were no vehicles around. It must have been fate. Two of them helped us inside.”
“There were checkpoints everywhere, so they told the guards, ‘Our uncle and aunt are sick. We’re taking them to the hospital. Please don’t stop us.’ That’s how they got us far away.”
Reflecting on the moment, Quader said: “When they entered the bathroom, I didn’t think I’d survive. Just staying alive that day was a blessing. They could’ve handed me over to the Army or worse, the mob. I could’ve been killed right there on the street.”
'I STAYED IN BANGLADESH FOR THREE MONTHS'
When asked what happened next, Quader said he remained in Bangladesh for about three months, hoping he could still do something from inside the country.
“I was trying to see if I could reorganise somehow. There was growing unrest, especially among workers and garment employees. I watched it closely every day. I even thought of contacting our leader to see if something could be done.”
“But then, one after another, people were getting arrested. I was just beneath the party chief in rank. Eventually, I became an accused in 212 murder cases.”
He continued, “People began urging me from both inside and outside the country to leave. I’d had bypass surgery and relied on medication. I wondered, if I got caught, who would ensure I got my medicine? After a lot of thinking, I decided to leave.”
When asked where the young men who helped him dropped him off and whether they ever revealed anything, Quader said only:
“I left that place that very night.”
The interviewer, Amal Sarkar, then asked if the group who helped him could’ve been angry Awami League members, who recognised him and decided to spare him.
Quader replied briefly: “If they were from the Awami League, I would’ve recognised them.”