Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's unexpected early return from China and the escalating protests in Dhaka may be connected, according to reports by Nepal Correspondence. Although the link might seem speculative, it warrants further investigation.

PM Hasina’s official visit to China from July 8-10, 2024, was cut short by a day, with the official reason cited as her daughter Saima Wazed’s illness. However, the timing of her return coincides with peaceful student protests in Dhaka turning violent, suggesting potential domestic reasons behind her hasty departure from Beijing.

Sources indicate that PM Hasina was dissatisfied with two aspects of her China visit. First, China’s promised financial assistance of $5 billion was drastically reduced to $100 million, provided as a loan rather than a grant. Second, and more significantly, China allegedly pressured Hasina to introduce its education policy in Bangladesh, aimed at downplaying Islamic culture. This demand reportedly led to her decision to cut the visit short, a sentiment she conveyed through her fatigued demeanor at a press conference upon her return.

Before the visit, extensive negotiations took place between the two governments over Bangladesh’s request for $5 billion in Chinese Yuan as budget support. China’s counteroffer, a high-interest trade facility, did not meet Bangladesh’s needs for low-cost budget support, further straining relations.

The student protests in Dhaka, ongoing for the past fortnight, initially focused on opposing the reintroduction of the reservation quota in government jobs, a policy abolished in 2018 and recently reinstated by court order. The quota reserves 30% of jobs for veterans' families from Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. The protests turned violent after PM Hasina’s return, resulting in 67 deaths and a prison break in Narsingdi District Jail, where several hundred inmates escaped, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency.

The violent turn in the protests raises questions about the underlying causes. While students’ grievances over high unemployment and inflation are valid, there are allegations of foreign interference. Reports suggest that Pakistani students and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have been involved, with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) reportedly orchestrating the unrest.

Senior intelligence officials in Bangladesh believe that the ISI is effectively mobilizing Chinese funds to support the ongoing protests. Chinese workers in Bangladesh have also been reportedly trained to mobilize China-funded protests, a tactic observed in 2019 when workers of the Jingjiu Group chanted pro-China slogans in Mandarin.

The MSS’s infiltration into Bangladeshi universities through education and exchange programs has created intelligence assets and funding channels for student unions. This strategy, aimed at fostering pro-China sentiments among Bangladeshi students, has seen Chinese universities in Yunnan teaching Bangla language and culture, with students later sent to Dhaka to further China’s interests.

The current protests are not the first instances of Chinese involvement. In April 2021, a protest at the Dhaka Press Club pressured the Awami League government to send more students to China, despite pending visa approvals from the Chinese Embassy.

The underlying reasons for the protests may stem from high unemployment and economic challenges. However, the involvement of China and Pakistan in exacerbating the situation to undermine PM Sheikh Hasina’s government is evident. Hasina’s refusal of Chinese loans has reportedly offended Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting China’s neo-colonial ambitions in South Asia, including Bangladesh.