Court hasn’t yet issued any letter to bring Sheikh Hasina back, says Foreign Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Rafiqul Islam, has confirmed that the court has not yet sent any formal request to bring former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina back from India. 

He made this statement during the Ministry’s weekly briefing on Thursday.

Rafiqul Islam said, “The court has not yet sent any letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about bringing Sheikh Hasina back from Delhi.”

Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the Awami League, resigned from her position as Prime Minister on August 5 after facing intense protests. Since then, she has been staying in India.

Following her removal from office, numerous murder cases have been filed against her across Bangladesh, and several petitions regarding abductions and killings have been submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also mentioned that it is still unclear whether the issue of bringing Sheikh Hasina back will be discussed during the upcoming visit of India’s Foreign Secretary. 

“It hasn’t been decided yet whether the issue of returning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be raised at the meeting between the two Foreign Secretaries, as the Ministry has not received any communication on this matter,” he added.

The Bangladesh-India Foreign Secretary-level meeting is scheduled to take place on December 9 in Dhaka.

Rafiqul Islam also said that Bangladesh had requested India to ensure Sheikh Hasina refrains from making provocative remarks while in Delhi, but there has been no response from India on this issue.

The upcoming meeting will focus on various important issues such as trade, water-sharing, border matters, and other areas of cooperation, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Times reported that Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s visit is taking place at a time of rising tensions between Bangladesh and India, sparked by protests over the alleged mistreatment of Hindu minorities in India and the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, accused of sedition.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh summoned the Indian Ambassador, Pranay Verma, on Tuesday to formally protest against the attack by Hindu extremists on Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission in Agartala, Tripura, and the disrespect shown to Bangladesh’s national flag.