NEW DELHI: Dhaka has made a formal request to New Delhi to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh in August, Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister Touhid Hossain said on Monday.
“We have informed [India] that she [Hasina] is wanted back here for the judicial process,” Hossain told reporters at the foreign ministry in Dhaka.
“We have done this through a note verbale,” he said, speaking in Bengali. Hossain did not give details.
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There was no immediate response from the Indian side to Hossain’s comments. The Indian government is expected to respond on the matter.
Earlier on Monday, Bangladesh’s de facto home minister Jahangir Alam said his ministry has written to the foreign ministry to facilitate Hasina’s return from India.
“We have sent a letter to the foreign ministry regarding her extradition. The process is currently underway,” Alam was quoted as saying by state-run BSS news agency.
Alam noted that there was an extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh, and Hasina could be brought back to Bangladesh under the pact.
Bangladesh’s interim government head Muhammad Yunus and other members of the caretaker administration have spoken several times in recent months about seeking Hasina’s extradition from India to face charges in Bangladesh. Since Hasina stepped down in the face of widespread public protests against her government and fled to India on August 5, scores of cases have been filed against her and leaders of her Awami League party.
During a meeting with Indian high commissioner Pranay Verma in August, Hossain said Hasina’s statements emanating from India were “not conducive to fostering better bilateral relations”.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar told Parliament in August that Hasina decided to quit after meeting leaders of Bangladesh’s security establishment and sought approval to come to India “for the moment”. Since then, the external affairs ministry has said it is up to Hasina to decide her future plans.
India-Bangladesh relations have been at a fresh low since the interim government led by Yunus assumed power. The Indian side has repeatedly expressed concern at the persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and asked the interim government to ensure their rights.