Kibria murder case was a tough test for Sheikh Hasina: Press Secretary

Former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria's son Dr. Reza Kibria has repeatedly claimed that Sheikh Hasina's close associates were involved in the murder of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria. This time, the Kibria murder case was a tough test for Sheikh Hasina, said the Chief Advisor's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.

On Wednesday (January 29), he posted a long status on his verified Facebook page about the Kibria murder case and Sheikh Hasina.

In the status, Shafiqul Alam said that for almost two decades, Reza Kibria has been claiming that top leaders of the Awami League and some people associated with the party are responsible for the murder of his father. Reza Kibria's mother and her family have repeatedly demanded a fair investigation and justice in the murder of Shah Kibria.

Claiming that the Shah Kibria murder case was a tough test for the Sheikh Hasina government, he said that even because of the constant objections of Reza and his mother, the late artist Asma Kibria, Sheikh Hasina changed the charge sheet in the murder case thrice.

The press secretary said that no one expected Hasina to ensure justice for the opposition party workers. We know how cases were filed and rigged against Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman or millions of opposition party leaders and activists. But Shah Kibria was Hasina's finance minister and UN undersecretary from 1996-2001. He played a key role in dealing with the worst floods in history in 1998, when two-thirds of the area was under water for two months.

He said that Hasina had an eternal characteristic that nothing was important to her outside her family. Her daily speeches indicate permanent damage to brain cells. If you ever listen to her speeches carefully, you will see that almost every day for 15 years, she would talk about the murder of her family in most of the first few paragraphs of her speeches.

He said, "Undoubtedly, the assassination of Sheikh Mujib and almost all his family members was a huge tragedy and a horrific murder. But do you talk about it every day? Do you talk about the pain of losing relatives every day or about losing your mother, losing your father, they didn't even spare baby Russell?"

Shafiqul Alam mentioned, "I have never heard any other leader in the world talk about a family tragedy like her. Have you ever heard Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi talk about the assassination of Rajiv or Indira Gandhi or how this incident affected their lives? Or have you heard the family members of Sri Lanka's King Birendra, who was brutally murdered by his son, talk about that incident?"

In fact, the more I review the events of 2009-2024, the more it seems that we have put someone in power who was medically unfit to govern.

Shafiqul Alam said, a top diplomat told me that he is a classic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patient. Therefore, Awami League political leaders should pass a medical examination before assuming office!

It is worth noting that on January 27, 2005, former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria was seriously injured in a grenade attack at a party rally in Habiganj. He later died on the way to Dhaka.