DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh witnessed massive funeral processions on Saturday for prominent political activist Sharif Osman Hadi, whose death has intensified the nation’s political instability ahead of crucial February elections. Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Dhaka under tight security measures as the country observed a national day of mourning.
Hadi, a key figure in the 2024 political uprising that ended former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year administration, succumbed to gunshot wounds on Thursday in a Singapore hospital. The initial attack occurred on December 12 in Dhaka, with police indicating the primary suspect has likely fled to India—a development that has sparked diplomatic tensions between the neighboring nations.
The funeral proceedings took place outside Bangladesh’s Parliament complex, where mourners carried national flags and chanted slogans vowing to continue Hadi’s political legacy. As spokesperson for the Inqilab Moncho cultural organization, Hadi will be laid to rest at Dhaka University campus beside national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
The activist’s death has triggered violent responses, with protesters attacking and setting fire to offices of two major national newspapers. Interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has appealed for calm amid the escalating tensions.
Hadi, known for his criticism of both India and the exiled former leader Hasina, had planned to run as an independent candidate in Dhaka during the upcoming elections. Bangladesh currently navigates a delicate political transition under Yunus’s interim government, with the absence of Hasina’s Awami League party creating a complex power dynamic.
The political landscape now features Hasina’s rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, alongside the Jamaat-e-Islami party—the country’s largest Islamist organization—which seeks expanded political influence following Hasina’s departure. India has remained unresponsive to Bangladesh’s requests for extraditing Hasina, who faces death sentencing for crimes against humanity.