The interaction was Hasina’s first public media appearance since she fled to Delhi in August 2024 amid widespread protests against her government. She also demanded that the ban on her party, the Awami League, be lifted and political prisoners be released. The Awami League leader also dismissed any back-channel talks with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government about her return. On Wednesday, Hasina further claimed that the 2024 protests that toppled her government were not a peaceful student movement. The Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a rival of the Awami League, came to power in the polls.