State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Monday said Bangladesh’s request to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India remains an ongoing process, reaffirming the current government’s commitment to bringing her back to face justice.
“The current government is making efforts to bring Sheikh Hasina back, and those efforts will continue,” she told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when asked whether Dhaka would renew its call for Hasina’s extradition from India.
The State Minister said the government, which recently assumed office, is determined to ensure justice for those responsible for events over the past 17 years, including the killing of civilians and children during the July Uprising in Bangladesh 2024.
Addressing bilateral issues with India, Shama Obaed said Bangladesh has many issues with its neighbour.
“We are asking for diesel, water, and we want the killings along the border to stop,” she said, adding that the Indian government has expressed interest in maintaining constructive relations with Bangladesh’s new elected administration based on mutual respect.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Sunday.
The two sides held wide-ranging discussions on issues of mutual interest aimed at strengthening bilateral financial and economic cooperation.
Talks focused on collaboration in the financial sector, emerging areas such as the digital economy and artificial intelligence, and improving the ease of doing business to attract greater investment and deepen economic ties between the two countries.
Bangladesh had earlier written to India in November last year for the second time seeking Hasina’s extradition following a verdict by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
On November 17, the tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in a case over crimes against humanity committed during the July–August mass uprising last year. Former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who testified as a state witness, was sentenced to five years in prison.