2011 Bangladeshi coup attempt

Unsuccessful coup d'état February 2026 2011 Bangladesh coup d'état attempt December 2011 Bangladesh Coup failed বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগের পতাকা.svg Government of Bangladesh Shahada flag.svg Islamist factions of Bangladesh Army Flag of Hizb ut-Tahrir.svg Hizb ut-Tahrir বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী লীগের পতাকা.svg Sheikh Hasina (PM) Unknown 0 0 Shahada flag.svg Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque The 2011 Bangladesh coup attempt was an attempted military coup planned in January, 2012. The coup participants were led by Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque and are widely believed to have been backed by the pan-Islamist fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The coup was unsuccessful and, on January 19, 2012, the Bangladesh Army announced that they had prevented the coup and had arrested or implicated sixteen former or current mid-ranked officers. The Bangladeshi government attributed the coup to religious fundamentalism and a desire to institute sharia law in Bangladesh; coup participants stated that their goals related to nationalism and mistrust of the government's relationship with India. According to others, the coup was likely as a result of general discontent of internal structures in the military, possibly stemming from the government's handling of the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt and resulting crackdown on the army. Attempted coup According to a participant, Ehsan Yusuf, the participants of the coup had planned to surround the Bangabhaban, the Ganabhaban and the Dhaka Cantonment to demand the resignation of the Hasina government. The plans had originally been scheduled around the time of the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt but had not been carried out. According to the army, the coup participants were mostly made up of mid-ranked current and retired officers in the Bangladesh Army who were widely believed to have been supported by a faction of Hizb ut-Tahrir although this has been disputed.Sacked major Zia applies for withdrawal of cases The Daily Star https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/sacked-major-zia-applies-withdrawal-cases-3792041 2026-04-07 www.thedailystar.net en On December 9th 2011, the participants held a teleconference and after the departure of one of their members, another expressed uncertainty about the plan. After the meeting, lieutenant colonel Ehsan Yusuf informed another member of the army who reported the potential coup. The Bangladesh army arrested Yusuf on December 15th and interrogate him, upon which they discover the involvement of the group's leaders: then-major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque. and businessman Ishraq Ahmed, who claimed to be involved in preventing the 1996 Bangladeshi coup attempt, and was set to be the leader of the new government. Ziaul had become a military officer after training at the Bangladesh Military Academy and turned to religious fundamentalism after the death of his wife from cancer.21 January 2012 Major Zia used UK mobile SIM to talk to officers http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-219282 7 November 2016 The Daily Star Ziaul coordinated with the other officers involved through texts, calls and social media posts especially Facebook.20 January 2012 Army foils bid to topple govt http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-219131 7 November 2016 The Daily Star He used an UK-based SIM card to contact other officers after the government was made aware of his involvement and encouraged the other members to carry out the coup in January.Sruthi Gottipati Hari Kumar 19 January 2012 Bangladesh Army Claims to Thwart Coup Attempt https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/world/asia/bangladesh-army-claims-to-thwart-coup-attempt.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=coup%20attempt&st=cse& The New York Times Ziaul was removed from his position in the military as a result of this revelation19 January 2012 Bangladesh army 'foils coup' against Sheikh Hasina https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16627852 21 January 2012 BBC News and placed into custody on December 23rd. However, he managed to escape shortly afterwards.Sengupta Anaya Mohan Archis January 20, 2012 Coup bid by fanatics foiled: Bangla army: Mastermind with anti-India history http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120120/jsp/frontpage/story_15029566.jsp dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120123003220/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120120/jsp/frontpage/story_15029566.jsp 2012-01-23 The Telegraph On 31 December, another alleged coup member, Zakir Hossain, was arrested. He and Yusuf gave confessional statements to the Dhaka Metropolitan Court admitting to their role in the coup.Ishraq was to head 'new regime' http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-221246 The Daily Star 7 November 2016 5 February 2012 On January 19, 2012, the Inter-Services Public Relations announced that the Bangladesh Army had prevented a military coup against the government of Sheikh Hasina, organised by current and former army officers and an individual living overseas in Hong Kong, potentially backed by Hizib ut-Tahrir.Bangladesh authorities vow to hunt coup plotters https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16653581 BBC News 20 January 2012 22 January 2012 They declared the arrest of two retired officers and claimed that sixteen current and former officers had been implicated and that Ziaul had fled. In September 2012, the Jatiya Sangsad requested the arrest of Major Ziaul and Ishraq Ahmed, who they believed to be in Thailand 12 September 2012 Arrest Maj Ziaul, Ishraq http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-249461 7 November 2016 The Daily Star According to a 2018 article on Terrorism and Political Violence, Ziaul was believed to have become a commander of Ansarullah Bangla Team, a jihadi fundamentalist terrorist organisation in BangladeshRiaz Ali Parvez Saimum 2018-11-02 Bangladeshi Militants: What Do We Know? https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2018.1481312 Terrorism and Political Violence en 30 6 944–961 10.1080/09546553.2018.1481312 0954-6553 subscription although there's little evidence to support this claim.Press Associated 2012-01-19 Bangladeshi military 'foils coup plot' https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/19/bangladeshi-military-foils-coup-plot 2026-04-07 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 Motivations The attempted coup is widely believed to have been instigated or backed by a branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist fundamentalist organisation that in 2009, had been banned in Bangladesh.Osman Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and Political Islam: Identity, Ideology and Religio-Political Mobilization Routledge 2018 978-0-8153-7528-9 ConclusionIntelligence Services in South Asia: colonial past and post-colonial realities 2025 Routledge 978-1-040-31367-1 Shaffer Ryan Studies in Intelligence Series S.l. Ashraf A. S. M. AliGriffiths Martin Hasan Mubashar 2015-05-04 Playing with Fire: Islamism and Politics in Bangladesh https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02185377.2015.1040039 Asian Journal of Political Science en 23 2 226–241 10.1080/02185377.2015.1040039 0218-5377 subscription The group had historically recruited university students in Bangladesh, but, since their prohibition, had switched to recruiting military officers. By the time of the coup, they had gained the allegiance of "several dozens" of current and former officers. However, since the group could not meet in public, the leadership could misrepresent themselves to the officers as much more widely supported than they were. According to an article in Himalayan and Central Asian Studies, and the Bangladesh army, the purpose of the coup had been allow Hizb ut-Tahrir to institute a form of Caliphate or sharia law in the country.Sharma Raj Kumar 2015 Rise of Islamic Radicalism in Bangladesh Implications for the Security of North-East India Himalayan and Central Asian Studies 19 1/2 1705723128 A director of personal services in the army said that the coup has been designed "to spread disaffection",Chowdhury Syed Tashfin 24 January 2012 Bangladesh warning after foiled coup http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NA24Df02.html Asia Times 4 April 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20160804073118/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NA24Df02.html 4 August 2016 unfit and other representatives said it had been organised by "religious fanatics".Ahmed Anis January 19, 2012 Bangladesh army says it foiled coup in December https://www.reuters.com/article/world/bangladesh-army-says-it-foiled-coup-in-december-idUSTRE80I1S7/ Reuters According to coup participant Ishraq Ahmed, the goal had instead been based in nationalism, and the participant's desire to remove Hasina from power was due to their feeling that she was "letting Bangladesh become a Bantustan run by India"28 January 2012 Ishraq admits arrested men are his friends http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-220224 7 November 2016 The Daily Star or otherwise turning it into a "puppet state of India."28 January 2012 Turbulent house https://www.economist.com/asia/2012/01/28/turbulent-house 7 November 2016 The Economist The 2016 Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh made the argument that the coup had been supported by the middle-ranking military officers due to their displeasure with the government's handling Bangladesh Rifles revolt and a belief that those involved should have been punished, general discontent and disillusionment with the higher ranks, and the "sanctioning suspected recalcitrant officers".Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh Routledge 2016 978-1-317-30877-5 Riaz Ali The attempted putsch Rahman Mohammad Sajjadur In 2009, the Bangladesh government had started a crackdown on the military after the Bangladesh Rifles revolt, which was also believed to be a contributing factor to the attempted coup.Magnier Mark 19 January 2012 Bangladeshi army says it has foiled coup attempt http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/01/bangladeshi-army-foiled-coup-attempt.html 21 January 2012 Los Angeles Times The Asian Journal of Political Science attributed the participant's motivations to more general societal discontent, especially with the two leading political parties: Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League. The authors described the coup as an "act carried out by a segment of the population who would find refuge in political Islam". Aftermath In Handbook of Terrorism in the Asia-Pacific, the authors wrote that the successful recruitment of military officers and attempted coup "indicate[d] a deeper crisis within Bangladeshi society".Handbook of terrorism in the Asia-Pacific 2016 Imperial College Press 978-1-78326-996-9 Gunaratna Rohan Imperial College Press insurgency and terrorism series London 295 Kam Stefanie In a piece for Time, Ishaan Tharoor argued at the time that, due to the coup's participant's potential connection to Islamist groups, the coup could be used by Hasina and her government as a way to secure power and "beat down more religious opponents".Tharoor Ishaan 2012-01-19 Behind Bangladesh's Failed Coup Plot: A History of Violence https://world.time.com/2012/01/19/behind-bangladeshs-failed-coup-plot-a-history-of-violence/ 2025-03-23 Time en-US 0040-781X In the years after the attempted coup, Hasina made public speeches praising rank and file army members and their role in Bangladesh's democracy. Her government also increased military spending and defence budgets.Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Bangladesh Routledge 2016 978-1-317-30877-5 Riaz Ali Pacification policy and rejuvenation of the military Rahman Mohammad Sajjadur In 2021, Ziaul was sentenced to death in abstensia over an unrelated murder. After the 2024 uprising and subsequent exile of Sheikh Hasina, his lawyer applied for all cases against him to be dismissed.2025-01-05 Sacked major Zia applies for withdrawal of cases https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/sacked-major-zia-applies-withdrawal-cases-3792041 2025-03-24 The Daily Star en See also Bangladesh List of coups d'état and coup attempts since 2010 Military coups in Bangladesh References 2 Category:2010s coups d'état Category:Coups d'état in Bangladesh Category:December 2011 in Bangladesh Category:2011 in military history Coup attempt Category:Bangladesh–India relations Category:2011 in politics Category:December 2011 crimes in Asia