Bangladesh on Sunday stepped up pressure on India over the extradition of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, saying that while legal procedures were involved, “political intent” was also necessary and urging New Delhi to expedite the process of sending her back to Dhaka.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam made the remarks a day after Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said India could not provide a timeframe for Hasina’s return because Bangladesh’s extradition request was being examined through an established legal process involving the courts.
“There is certainly a legal process involved, but political intent is also necessary,” Shama told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.
She said Bangladesh expected the Indian government to give greater attention to completing the extradition process quickly. Her remarks signalled that the government in Dhaka views Hasina’s return not merely as a legal question but also as an issue requiring political engagement between the two countries.
Asked specifically whether Hasina could be returned under the extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh, Shama replied in the affirmative.
“Certainly. The accused can be brought back under the treaty, and that process is being taken forward,” she said.
The comments followed Trivedi’s remarks on Saturday that New Delhi could not specify when the extradition process might be completed.
“Nobody can give you a timeframe,” the Indian envoy said while responding to questions at a discussion organised by a private think tank in Dhaka.
Trivedi said India had repeatedly made its position clear that the extradition request was being handled through a “legal” and “well-structured” process. Indian authorities have maintained that the request is under examination in accordance with established procedures.
The envoy also defended India’s decision to allow Hasina to enter the country when she fled Bangladesh in August 2024, saying New Delhi had “hardly any choice” at the time as she was still the country’s prime minister when she arrived.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India since August 5, 2024, when she fled Dhaka following the student-led uprising that brought an end to her Awami League government.
A special tribunal in Bangladesh subsequently tried her in absentia and sentenced her to death over the crackdown on the 2024 protests. Hasina and her supporters have rejected the proceedings, with the former prime minister describing the tribunal as politically motivated and a “kangaroo court”.
Bangladesh has sought her return from India through diplomatic channels. The extradition question became one of the most contentious issues between the two neighbours after the collapse of the Awami League government.
The demand continued after the political transition in Bangladesh. Following the February 12 election and the formation of a government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Dhaka renewed its push for Hasina’s extradition.
Rahman raised the issue with Trivedi in August and urged India to accelerate the process. The Bangladesh government has linked progress on outstanding bilateral issues with the need to address questions that have strained relations between the neighbours since 2024.
India, however, has consistently treated the extradition request as a legal matter and maintained that it must pass through the appropriate procedures before any decision can be taken.
The extradition push also comes against the backdrop of Hasina’s own statements that she intends to return voluntarily to Bangladesh by December.
The former prime minister has said she is prepared to face the legal process despite the possibility of arrest, imprisonment or even execution. She has not announced a specific date for her return.
Her stated intention raises a separate question over whether the extradition process would remain relevant if she returned voluntarily before Indian legal proceedings on Dhaka’s request were completed.
Hasina’s presence in India has remained a sensitive issue in bilateral relations. Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka deteriorated sharply following her ouster, although both governments have since taken steps to restore regular political and diplomatic engagement.
India invited Rahman to attend last month’s BRICS Summit, while a separate invitation for a bilateral visit to New Delhi had been in place since February. Rahman did not attend the summit and has not visited New Delhi since taking office.
Dhaka’s latest remarks have now put the extradition issue firmly back at the centre of the relationship. While India continues to emphasise the legal process, Bangladesh is publicly arguing that New Delhi must also demonstrate the political will necessary to bring that process to a conclusion.