After the giddy public highs following Hasina’s departure, the interim government has admitted that weight of expectation is enormous

Like so many of Sheikh Hasina’s political rivals, Amir Chowdhury was in jail the day that the prime minister fled Bangladesh.

Chowdhury, a senior leader in the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), had been picked up by police three weeks earlier, in July, as mass protests began to engulf the country and a violent crackdown began in response. It was Chowdhury’s third stint in prison since Hasina took power 15 years ago and began a campaign to destroy his party.