Bangladesh will wait for the response from India regarding former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s return to the country who was ousted from power in the face of a mass uprising last August. The next step will be taken on the basis of India’s response to the letter from Bangladesh in this regard.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam said this Tuesday evening during the weekly briefing of the ministry.
Earlier on Monday, the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi sent a diplomatic note to the foreign ministry of India to send back Sheikh Hasina under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Sheikh Hasina fled to India after resigning following a mass movement demanding her resignation. She has been staying in Delhi since then. Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also confirmed the diplomatic note from Bangladesh yesterday at a press conference. However, he denied commenting on this issue.
Asked about Bangladesh’s next step to bring back Sheikh Hasina, Rafiqul Alam said, “The diplomatic note was served on Monday. As far as I know, there has been no response from India in the government channel. We won’t make any comment in this regard right now. Rather, we will wait for India’s response. Our next course of action will be decided based on that response.”
He further said, “As far as I remember there is no time limit in the extradition treaty. So we have to wait for the response from the Indian government. We will wait for a certain time. There is a natural time to respond to anything. If we don’t get any response within that time, we will serve a note of urgency. We will let them know that we are expecting a response in this regard. The note was served only yesterday. So it’s difficult to talk about the next step right now.”
Referring to the issue as a sensitive one, the foreign ministry spokesperson said, “I think there is no opportunity for you or me to comment on such a sensitive issue during normal time. The government of the two countries will decide on this as soon as they feel it is the right time. We should not speculate anything in this regard right now.”
Asked about the current status of former Bangladesh prime minister in Delhi now, Rafiqul Alam said, “We faced similar questions from the media in the recent past too. The foreign affairs adviser and secretary have already answered these questions. So I don’t have the option to comment on this.”