Dhaka/New Delhi: Bangladesh wants India to stop its former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from addressing a virtual event from New Delhi on August 5.
Political activities by the ousted leader, who faces a death sentence in Bangladesh, from Indian territory could adversely affect bilateral ties, Dhaka has said.
Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on a press meet that Dhaka wanted New Delhi to spell out its stand on the issue as reports suggested Hasina could join a private event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia) virtually on Wednesday, which marks the second anniversary of her government’s ouster.
Hasina (78) is expected to address the event virtually. Her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and Bangladesh human rights general secretary Mahammad Ali Siddique are also expected to participate, as reported by News18.
“Bangladesh wants India to make its position clear on the matter,” Shama said, adding that Dhaka did not want the issue to undermine relations between the two neighbours.
Political activities by “fugitives from India who seek to create instability in Bangladesh” could impact bilateral ties and reiterated Dhaka’s long-held position that “fugitives or convicted individuals” should not be allowed to use Indian territory for political activities aimed at destabilising Bangladesh, she said.
“We want relations with India to improve. I believe India also wants that,” she said.
The matter also came up during a meeting between India’s newly appointed High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, and Bangladesh prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir in Dhaka on Monday.
A statement issued by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said that Kabir informed the Indian envoy that Bangladesh expected India’s cooperation to ensure “that no individual associated with banned organisations – including fugitive Sheikh Hasina – can use Indian territory to make political statements or engage in activities aimed at creating instability within Bangladesh.”
Hasina’s proposed public address from Indian soil could undermine the “positive momentum in bilateral relations,”, Kabir said, according to Bangladesh’s state-run BSS news agency.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka, however, said the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral engagement.
“The discussion focused on increasing people-centric cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, based on mutual interest and mutual benefit,” the mission said in a post on X.
High Commissioner Trivedi “reiterated India’s intent to work positively with the Government of Bangladesh to advance the developmental aspirations of the peoples of India and Bangladesh”, it added.
While Hasina has given interviews and made statements to the media, this may be the first time she addresses a virtual event from New Delhi after being forced to flee from Dhaka on August 5, 2024.
A few days ago, she had announced plans to return to Bangladesh with senior party colleagues by the end of this year and surrender.
“They may arrest me on my return; they may even kill me,” she told Reuters.
A tribunal in Bangladesh had, in November 2025, sentenced Hasina to death in absentia after convicting her of crimes against humanity over the crackdown on the 2024 protests that led to her ouster. Hasina has dismissed the charges as “politically motivated.”
If she goes ahead with the proposed virtual address on August 5, it would mark her first public appearance on the anniversary of the day that brought her uninterrupted 15-year rule to an abrupt end.
Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said security and law enforcement agencies had been placed on high alert ahead of August 5.
“All necessary measures have been taken to ensure a peaceful and secure environment across the country ahead of August 5,” he told reporters.
