Bangladesh Requests India's Assistance for Extraditing Former PM Hasina
Click to start listening
Dhaka, Dec 23 (NationPress) The interim regime in Bangladesh has formally communicated to the Indian government, requesting the extradition of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
A prominent figure in the movement to restore democracy in Bangladesh, Hasina, the daughter of the nation's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was compelled to leave the country under distressing circumstances and seek asylum in India on August 5 of this year.
Touhid Hossain, the Foreign Affairs Advisor of the interim government, confirmed the recent development in Dhaka on Monday afternoon.
"We have informed India. We have conveyed our request for Sheikh Hasina's return for judicial purposes. This has been communicated through a note verbale (diplomatic note)," Hossain stated to local media.
Earlier on the same day, the Home Affairs Advisor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, mentioned that his ministry had reached out to Hossain's office to expedite the return of the ousted Prime Minister from India.
"We have sent a letter to the foreign ministry regarding her extradition. The process is currently in motion. They have an extradition agreement with us," Chowdhury was quoted as saying by the prominent Bengali daily Prothom Alo.
This month, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka for discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart Md. Jashim Uddin and also met with Towhid Hossain and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
The meetings were significant as relations between the two nations have deteriorated in recent months, with India expressing grave concerns over the rising extremist rhetoric, increasing violence, and provocations against the Hindu community in Bangladesh.
In September, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar also conducted a bilateral meeting with Hossain during the UN General Assembly in New York, marking the first high-level engagement since Hasina's ousting in August.
Hasina has also vehemently condemned the abuses inflicted upon the populace, especially minorities, by the interim government.
"A top leader of the Sanatan religious community has been unjustly arrested, and he must be released immediately," stated the President of the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) following the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote and affiliated with Iskcon Bangladesh.
"A temple has been burned in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, shrines, churches, monasteries, and the homes of the Ahmadiyya community have faced attacks, vandalism, and arson. Religious freedom and the safety of all communities must be upheld," Hasina asserted.
"After the killings of numerous Awami League leaders and workers, students, and law enforcement members, there have been ongoing harassments through assaults and arrests. I vehemently condemn and protest against these anarchic actions," she added.
