More than two years ago, an enraged mob in Dhaka, Bangladesh, attacked the residence of the then-Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Following this, she traveled to India aboard a Bangladeshi military aircraft. Hasina has now announced her intention to return to Bangladesh this coming December. According to international media reports, while India is not opposed to this plan, it insists that her return must be accompanied by guarantees of full security and the assurance of a fair hearing. The reports cite sources from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and military circles. The government in Bangladesh, led by Tarique Rahman, has neither acknowledged this report nor offered any response. In this context, while answering questions from journalists on November 13, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment on the veracity of the report. Meanwhile, K.M. Nazmul Haque, an assistant press secretary to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, claimed in a Facebook post last Friday that no country is willing to provide asylum to Hasina. Najmul wrote on Facebook, “The UK, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Finland, the United States, Belarus, Qatar—and not even a single country in Africa—are willing to provide shelter to a murderer.” He further noted that options are closing one after another for Sheikh Hasina. According to Najmul, Hasina intends to return to Bangladesh as a last resort, banking on the support of key Awami League functionaries and loyalists.
Hasina’s communication with the Bangladesh government:
On November 9, Hasina applied for a new passport and travel documents. This marked her first formal communication with the Bangladesh government since she went into exile. However, there has been no positive response from Dhaka. Instead, some leaders have firmly asserted that India should extradite Hasina to Bangladesh. Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri has remarked that the Bangladesh government’s stance regarding Hasina’s passport application is “extremely rigid.” It is worth noting that a court in Bangladesh has sentenced Hasina to death, and Dhaka has been consistently demanding her extradition. Nevertheless, India has not yet taken any action on these demands, which has allowed Hasina to remain in India. Meanwhile, Hasina has announced that she wishes to return to Bangladesh in December.
