People need travel documents to travel: Jaiswal

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said he does not have an answer to whether a person being extradited must have a passport, describing it as a very ‘technical’ question.

However he noted that from a common perspective people need travel documents to travel.

Jaiswal made the remarks in response to a journalist’s question at the ministry’s weekly briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday (10 November).

The journalist was referring to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and asked whether a passport was mandatory for the extradition of an individual.

Several questions were raised at the briefing about Sheikh Hasina’s extradition and her request for a passport. Asked about her seeking a passport or the return of her National Identity Card (NID), Jaiswal said only the Bangladeshi authorities could provide an appropriate answer to that.

He also suggested that it is better to direct the question to them.

Responding to several other questions about Hasina’s extradition, Jaiswal reiterated his earlier position, saying, “As I have said before, this is a legal matter. It will be treated legally.”

He was also asked whether India had any role in Sheikh Hasina’s request for a passport and NID. When asked whether the issue might be discussed in the upcoming consular-level meeting between the two countries, Jaiswal gave no direct answer.

He also refrained from making any comment regarding Sheikh Hasina’s claims or the Bangladeshi government’s position.

Several questions were also raised during the briefing regarding the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty.

One journalist asked that the 30-year treaty is set to expire on 12 December, which had been signed by the prime ministers of India and Bangladesh. Noting that nearly eight months have passed without any conversation between the prime ministers of Bangladesh and India, the journalist asked whether the treaty would “flow away with the waters of the Ganges”

In reply, Jaiswal only said that he had no new updates to share on the matter.

Asked whether Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would visit India in November or December, Jaiswal could not shed any light on that matter either.