‘Heartbroken’, says Sheikh Hasina’s daughter over Bangladesh unrest

Saima Wazed, daughter of former Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday said she is “heartbroken” as she cannot hug her mother after the unrest in her country.

“Heartbroken with the loss of life in my country that I love,” said Wazed, who is also the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for South East Asia, in a post on X.com.

Expressing sadness over the affairs of her country, the Regional Director said she is also heartbroken as she “cannot see and hug mother during this difficult time”.

Wazed, however, stated that she remains “committed” to the role of Regional Director at WHO.

Wazed took office as WHO Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region on February 1 this year. She succeeded Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, an Indian national, who became the first woman to assume the office of WHO Regional Director for SE Asia in 2014.

Previously, Wazed served as an advisor to the WHO Director-General on mental health and autism. She was also a member of WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health.

Wazed is also a licensed School Psychologist who is nationally certified in the US. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in clinical psychology, and a Specialist degree in school psychology from Barry University in Florida, US.

Bangladesh is seeing nationwide protests over job quotas. Following the agitation, Hasina resigned as the country’s Prime Minister and fled the country, reportedly to India.

After her resignation, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the Parliament.

On Wednesday, Bangladeshi Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said that an interim government, headed by Nobel Laureate and noted economist Muhammad Yunus, will be sworn in on Thursday night. He said that the interim government will have an advisory council of 15 members.

The Army Chief also noted that the situation across the country is improving significantly and normalcy would return within the next three-four days.