US lawmakers urge sanctions on ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's officials

Lawmakers in the US Congress are batting for imposingsanctions against officials who served under former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The proposal comes days after media reports claimed that Hasina's visa for the US was revoked by the authorities as she sought political asylum.

Senator Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took the lead in bringing the sanctions.Hollen referred toObaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina's Awami League Party andAsaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who served as the home minister during Hasina's tenure.

"The Bangladeshi leaders who orchestrated this brutal crackdown must be held accountable, which is why we're calling upon the administration to sanction General Secretary Quader and Home Affairs Minister Khan, as we continue working to support a peaceful and democratic Bangladesh," saidVan Hollen.

Five other congressional Democrats also supported the demand and sent the letter toSecretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging sanctions on those officials.

Notably, Washington had not approved of Hasina's latest tenure when she secured a fourth straight term in January. US State Department said the polls were not free and fair and sided with the opposition parties.

However, the White House has formally welcomed the appointment of a new caretaker government without any delay.An interim government, led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, was sworn in on Thursday (Aug 8) to hold elections in the South Asian nation.

Did the US revoke Hasina's visa?

Several media outlets carried the story after Hasina fled to India and waited for some of the Western nations, including the US to accept her asylum request.

However,Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, dismissed the media reports stating that no one had revoked the visa of the Awami League leader and neither had she applied for asylum anywhere.

"No one has revoked her visa. She has not applied for political asylum anywhere. Those are all rumours," said Joy.

After the students' quota protest went out of control leading to over 300 deaths, Hasina was forced to resign as the PM.Speaking to WION, Joysaid Bangladesh was on its way to becoming the next Pakistan as anarchy was rampant.

"After all she [Hasina] has done, after all the development, Bangladesh will now become Pakistan," said Wazed.

"Developments in Bangladesh are terrible. It's anarchy, you have no rule of law. You have mobs running the streets, vandalising homes, factories and from what I've heard now they're attacking minorities. You know, the militants are attacking minorities and Hindu temples. So Bangladesh is actually in a state of anarchy."

Joy cleared that his mother was neither planning to return to Bangladesh nor foray into the political landscape.

(With inputs from agencies)