India will deal diplomatically with BD govt about Hasina's extradition: Jaishankar

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said New Delhi conducts its interactions with governments through diplomatic channels, rather than responding to reports in the press.

He made the statement on Tuesday in response to a question in Berlin about the extradition of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

"As you know there is change in government in Bangladesh. And we obviously deal with the government of the day. How we deal with that is through diplomatic channels, not necessarily by the reports which will be reported in the press," Jaishankar said.

Bangladesh’s interim government advisers have been discussing Hasina’s potential extradition in the media, as she faces over 100 murder cases.

Hasina fled to India from Bangladesh on 5 August after the student movement turned into a national protest against the leader.

She was forced to step down from her position and flee the country in a military helicopter. She has been in India ever since even as calls for extradition grow.

Bangladesh has revoked Hasina and her relatives’ diplomatic passports, raising questions about whether she can stay in India any longer and whether she faces possible extradition.

The approval for the ex-PM to enter India after she fled Bangladesh last month had been granted at short notice, according to officials at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.