Dhaka seeks propitious environment for PM’s Delhi visit: Foreign ministry spokesperson

An environment propitious to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India needs to be created. To this end, Bangladesh has urged the Indian authorities to swiftly return former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals under the bilateral extradition treaty, and to hand over to Bangladesh the alleged killers accused in the murder of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson AKM Shahidul Karim made the remarks at a press briefing on Sunday afternoon. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “We are waiting for their (India’s) response. Bangladesh and India have been in touch with each other for several weeks on the possibility of a bilateral visit by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to India.”

However, this process was vitiated by the open press interaction in New Delhi on 5 August by Sheikh Hasina, who has been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity. “We have made our position clear on this matter. We are of the view that a propitious environment needs to be created for the visit,” said AKM Shahidul Karim.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson further said, “To this end, we have requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on our request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals and to hand over to Bangladesh the accused killers of Shahid Sharif Osman Hadi in compliance with our bilateral extradition treaty, we are awaiting their response.”

“We reiterate that we'll continue to pursue our Bangladesh first policy to promote friendly bilateral relations with other countries, including our neighbours, on the basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and mutual benefit,” added the Foreign Ministry official.