Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India will depend on the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh Foreign ministry spokesperson AKM Shahidul Karim said that ongoing discussions about the a possible bilateral visit by Rahman to New Delhi were affected by a recent media interaction involving Hasina in the Indian Capital, where she has been living in exile for two years.
Karim said on Sunday that Bangladesh had urged India to accelerate the process of extraditing Hasina and other fugitives wanted by Dhaka.
“We are of the view that a propitious environment needs to be created for the visit,” Karim said.
“To this end, we have requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on our request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals, and to hand over to Bangladesh the accused killers of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi in compliance with our bilateral extradition treaty. We are awaiting their response,” the spokesperson elaborated.
The ‘fugitive criminals’ Bangladesh referred to are two persons — accused of killing political activist Osman Hadi — who were arrested by the special task force (STF) of West Bengal police from the border town of Bongaon, in North 24 Parganas district, in March.
“We reiterate that we will continue to pursue our ‘Bangladesh First’ policy to promote friendly bilateral relations with other countries, including our neighbours, on the basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual benefit,” the Foreign ministry added.
The weeks-long process surrounding Rahman’s possible India trip had been “vitiated” by Hasina’s open press interaction in New Delhi, despite her conviction by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity.
Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024 in a military helicopter after resigning as Prime Minister amid mass anti-government protests by students and youths.
India has maintained that Hasina’s press conference earlier this month had nothing to do with the government.
On the issue of Hasina’s extradition, India has said that Bangladesh’s request is “under examination”.
