Nothing to do if India refuses to return Hasina: Foreign Adviser

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina cannot be brought back if India refuses to return her, said interim government’s foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Wednesday, December 10.

He made the remark while responding to a question from journalists at the foreign ministry.

“What can we do, tell me? There is hardly anything we can do. India must agree or must want to send her back,” said Touhid Hossain.

“If they do not agree, there is actually nothing to do. We can only try to persuade them and continue doing so, nothing more,” he added.

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India after being ousted in a student–public uprising on August 5 last year. She has remained there since. Last month, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the suppression of the movement. The interim government later requested New Delhi to send her back but India has shown no response yet.

Most recently, after the death sentence was issued, Bangladesh sent a diplomatic note to India seeking her return under the extradition agreement.