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Published : 09 Apr 2025, 12:23 AM
Amid a lack of response from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the request for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s return during a meeting with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus in Bangkok, the interim government has said both sides will work on the issue.
Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain and Chief Advisor’s top aide Khalilur Rahman addressed questions from journalists in separate press conferences in Dhaka on Tuesday.
When asked about Modi’s reaction to the request raised by Bangladesh, Touhid said at the foreign ministry: “Look, the matter was brought up, but no final decision has been made yet. That’s all I can say.”
Amid tensions in bilateral relations following the fall of the Awami League government, Yunus and Modi held their first meeting on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on Apr 4.
Citing Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, the state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) later reported that Bangladesh had asked India to send Hasina back during the meeting.
The Awami League President Hasina fled to India on Aug 5, 2024, amid mass protests and has remained there since.
The interim government has initiated proceedings to try Hasina and her close allies at the International Crimes Tribunal, terming the crackdown by the former Awami League regime on protesters a “genocide”.
She also faces allegations of running a network of secret detention facilities where, under the pretext of a “counter-terrorism” campaign, political opponents were allegedly detained, subjected to enforced disappearances, and killed.
The tribunal has issued arrest warrants against Hasina in three cases over murder and enforced disappearances.
Though the government has formally sent an extradition request under the existing treaty, Delhi has not responded yet.
Asked whether there has been any reply to Dhaka’s appeal, the foreign advisor said: “As I said, there’s been no final word on it. So, we’ll leave it there.
“We have requested them to return her; to face trial."
In another briefing at the Foreign Service Academy, Khalilur echoed the same: “We’ve requested for Sheikh Hasina’s repatriation. Both sides will work on the matter.”
He added, “Prime Minister Modi has clearly said that India’s relationship with Bangladesh is not based on any individual or party. It is a state-to-state relationship.
“We also believe the same. Based on that, we’ll move forward with our bilateral ties.”
Touhid said: “People-to-people relations can be interpreted differently. But Modi has been very clear – India’s relationship is with Bangladesh and its people, not with any party.
“We see that as a positive signal.”
Despite the high-level meeting, there is still no indication of the visa suspension being lifted.
On the issue of visas, he said, “Visas are a sovereign matter. If they choose not to issue them, you can’t question it. You can’t ask why they aren’t giving visas.
“We could also suspend them – like we did temporarily with Agartala. Now we’ve partially resumed.”
The advisor added, “We want them to ease the visa process. If not, people will go elsewhere – and they already are. There’s no vacuum in nature.
“If India becomes inaccessible, they’ll turn to other countries.”
Touhid said Bangladesh would support such alternatives to avoid any disruptions. “If the reasons our people used to go to India can be addressed elsewhere, we’ll work on that.”
He also pointed out that India stands to lose from its decision to scale back visas.
“We want India to make it easier,” he added. “That would benefit both sides. Kolkata’s economy, especially its hospitals, is suffering because of the visa restrictions.”
When asked if the government is hopeful of overcoming current tensions in bilateral ties, Touhid said: “It takes both sides to move forward.
“We’ve kept the process going, and we hope our relations will improve in the days ahead,” he concluded.
