Bangladesh on Sunday set former premier Sheikh Hasina’s extradition as a condition for a visit to India by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, with the foreign ministry in Dhaka saying a “propitious environment” should be created for the trip to go ahead.
The Bangladesh government had also raised Hasina’s extradition when Indian high commissioner Dinesh Trivedi met PM Rahman in Dhaka on August 10. Trivedi subsequently travelled to New Delhi to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latest developments on August 11.
Foreign ministry spokesperson AKM Shahidul Karim also called on New Delhi to extradite “other fugitive criminals” –– an apparent reference to leaders of Hasina’s Awami League party currently in India –– and to hand over the alleged killers of political leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who were arrested in West Bengal earlier this year. Karim, who made a statement on the issue at the foreign ministry, acknowledged that Bangladesh and India have been in touch for “several weeks” on the possibility of a visit by Rahman to New Delhi. “We are of the view that a propitious environment needs to be created for this visit,” Karim said. The Bangladeshi side is waiting for India’s response on these matters, Karim said. He made it clear the government in Dhaka will continue to follow a “Bangladesh First” policy while pursuing friendly relations with other countries, including neighbours, on the “basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual benefit”. The external affairs ministry has said that Bangladesh’s request for Hasina’s extradition is being examined in line with established legal processes. In the case of Hadi’s alleged killers, the external affairs ministry said investigations are ongoing against the two Bangladeshi nationals arrested in West Bengal in March.
The demand came against the backdrop of reports that India and Bangladesh are exploring the possibility of a bilateral visit by Rahman later this month as part of efforts to reset the overall relationship after nearly two years of unprecedented strains. His remarks appeared to play down reports that Rahman was certain to travel to India this month. “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. There was no immediate response from Indian officials to Bangladesh’s demands.
