Exile, asylum, and arrest: South Asia's displaced political elite

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on September 9 as violent protests over the government's social media ban intensified. Protests continued for the second day despite the government announcing that it had lifted the ban on social media platforms.

Oli’s resignation marks Nepal as at least the third neighbouring country of India to undergo significant political change since 2022, following youth-led anti-government protests.

A similar wave of discontent was witnessed in Bangladesh, where, in July 2024, student-led demonstrations erupted in Dhaka. What began as peaceful protests against a controversial job quota system favouring descendants of 1971 freedom fighters soon grew into a broader expression of public frustration.

Have a look at the current activities and locations of the leaders who absconded after the coup.

SRI LANKA: RAJAPAKSA FLED TO SINGAPORE, NOW IN COLOMBO

On July 13,2022 Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Maldives, before traveling to Singapore on July 14. Next day, Rajapaksa sent his resignation letter by email from Singapore.

In August 2022, Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in Bangkok from Singapore, where he had been residing since mid-July.
Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis triggered massive protests and unprecedented public outrage, ultimately forced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee abroad after widespread demonstrations.

Sri Lanka, with a population of nearly 22 million, is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis, the worst in over 70 years, causing widespread hardship as millions struggle to afford food, medicine, fuel, and other necessities. The nation's total foreign debt amounts to USD 51 billion in July 2022.

In June 2022, the country's inflation touched a record 54.6 per cent year-on-year while food inflation surged to 80.1 per cent.

On July 3, 2022, Gotabaya Rajapaksa came back to Sri Lanka from Thailand, nearly two months after escaping the country due to widespread unrest.

Rajapaksa served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022.

BANGLADESH: SHEIKH HASINA TOOK REFUGE IN INDIA

On August 5, 2024, amid a student movement and military intervention, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India by helicopter, seeking refuge. Accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, she left abruptly without addressing the public.
Hasina is no stranger to Delhi. She and her sister stayed in the national capital when her father and Bangladesh's President Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with other family members in 1975.

The UN human rights office estimated that up to 1,400 people may have been killed in Bangladesh over three weeks last summer in a crackdown on student-led protests against the now-ousted former prime minister, Hasina.

An interim government took power on August 8 and has since banned the Awami League, arresting many senior leaders.
Her party, the Awami League, was outlawed in Bangladesh in May this year under the Anti-Terrorism Act, facing trials for its role in violently suppressing protests.

On September 7, more than a thousand activists of the banned Awami League staged a protest march near the Parliament premises in Dhaka today, chanting slogans in support of party chief Sheikh Hasina.

Earlier, thousands joined a march in Tejgaon, while several hundred gathered a week earlier near the Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Gulistan.

Nevertheless, her precise location at present and political prospects remains unclear, as New Delhi has discouraged her and her allies to refrain from engaging in any open political actions.

AFGHANISTAN: ASHRAF GHANI IS IN ABU DHABI

On August 15, 2021, as the Taliban seized Kabul, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani swiftly departed the presidential palace and fled by plane.

He initially arrived in Tajikistan before being granted asylum in the UAE on humanitarian grounds.

He has since been living a low-profile exile in Abu Dhabi.
On August 15, the Taliban insurgents rapidly overtook Kabul following an abrupt and unparalleled disintegration of the US supported Ghani administration, leading the president to join both citizens and expatriates in fleeing the nation.

Accompanied by his wife, select security officials, and close aides, Ghani was rumoured to have taken significant cash and valuables, though he refuted these claims.

Ghani denied stealing millions from the treasury while fleeing the country. "My wife and I have been scrupulous in our personal finances. I have publicly declared all of my assets," he said, adding that he welcomes an official audit or financial investigation under UN auspices or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity of his statements.

Ashraf Ghani was President of Afghanistan between September 2014 and August 2021.

PAKISTAN: OVER 150 CASES AGAINST IMRAN KHAN, IN JAIL

On May 9, 2023, Imran Khan was taken into custody in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, triggering widespread protests throughout Pakistan.
Later, on January 17 this year, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison over the same case, while his wife, Jashra Bibi, received a 7-year sentence.

Imran Khan currently faces over 150 criminal cases. His political party has opted out of the upcoming by-elections, stating that the electoral process lacks fairness and that participating would legitimise what they consider to be unlawful disqualifications.

Pakistan’s Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed the case in December 2023 against Khan, 72, Bibi, 50, and six others, accusing them of causing a loss of 190 million (50 billion Pakistani rupees) to the national exchequer.

Khan was first arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case in May 2023, spending less than 48 hours in custody. The arrest sparked widespread protests across the country, with the former PM's supporters rioting in several cities.

Khan, who is currently lodged in prison, has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated.

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