Hossain offered to resign on several occasions because of pressure due to the Awami League's lobbying activities. However, he continued to serve in Mujib's cabinet, even after the creation of the one party system of BAKSAL that lasted for 6 months between January and August 1975, until the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975. At the time of the Mujib's killing, Hossain was visiting Yugoslavia on a bilateral visit. He refused invitations to join the martial law government. Fearing for his life and rejecting calls to return, he moved to Oxford University for a period of teaching and research.