Bangladesh has renewed pressure on India to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, saying that while legal procedures must be followed, “political intent” is equally important for facilitating her return.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Sunday that Dhaka expected New Delhi to take steps to speed up the extradition process.
“There is certainly a legal process involved, but political intent is also necessary,” Islam told a media briefing at her office.
Her remarks came a day after Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said that India could not provide a timeframe for Hasina’s return as Bangladesh’s extradition request was being examined through an established legal process involving the courts.
Asked whether Hasina could be brought back under the extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh, Islam replied in the affirmative.
“The accused can be brought back under the treaty, and that process is being taken forward,” she said. However, some legal experts have questioned whether provisions of the treaty would apply in Hasina’s case.
Trivedi, speaking at an event organized by a private think tank in Dhaka on Saturday, had underlined that the matter was subject to due legal procedures.
“Nobody can give you a timeframe,” he said, adding that the Indian government had repeatedly stated that the process was legal and well structured.
Hasina, 79, has been staying in India since she fled Dhaka on August 5, 2024, following the student-led agitation known as the July Uprising that brought down her Awami League government.
She was subsequently tried in absentia by a special tribunal and sentenced to death over the crackdown on protesters. Hasina and her supporters have rejected the proceedings, describing the tribunal as a “kangaroo court”.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government had formally sought Hasina’s extradition through a diplomatic note. India, however, maintained that the request was being examined in accordance with established procedures.
The demand gained fresh momentum after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party government came to power following the February 12 elections.
In August, Rahman urged the Indian high commissioner to expedite Hasina’s extradition, while stressing the need to create a conducive environment for improving bilateral relations.
Hasina, meanwhile, has said she intends to return voluntarily to Bangladesh by December to face the legal process.
The extradition dispute has become a significant irritant in India-Bangladesh relations, which have witnessed strains since Hasina’s removal from power.
India had also invited Rahman to attend the BRICS Summit held last month, while a separate invitation for a bilateral visit had been pending since February. Rahman neither attended the summit nor visited New Delhi after assuming office.
