BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Zainul Abedin Farroque on Sunday urged India to immediately return deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh under the existing extradition treaty to uphold the agreement and maintain friendly bilateral relations.
“The International Crimes Tribunal has delivered the verdict against Sheikh Hasina for genocide, and it must be executed,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion organised by Jatiyatabadi Bastuhara Dal at the Jatiya Press Club, the BNP leader also said India has an obligation to return Hasina to Bangladesh under the extradition treaty signed between the two countries.
“If you (India) want to keep the prisoner-exchange agreement, if you want to maintain friendship, if you want friendship with the people of this country — not with Hasina — then, following international norms, Hasina must be sent back to Bangladesh without delay under the extradition arrangement,” he said.
On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal convicted Hasina and two others in a case related to crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July–August uprising, in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
The tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal — both of whom fled to India following the mass uprising — to death, while former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who gave testimony as a state witness, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Bangladesh and India signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which was amended in 2016 to simplify procedures, including changes to Article 10(3) to speed up the return of fugitive offenders. The treaty came into effect in June 2016 and allows both countries to exchange convicted or under-trial prisoners when required.
Farroque, a former opposition chief whip in parliament, alleged that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has been plotting to derail the election by making various unjustified demands.
“Let me say clearly — no matter how many conspiracies you make, no matter how many understandings you reach with the Awami League’s ghosts to influence the election, nothing will work. None of your schemes will succeed,” he said.
The BNP leader said Chief Adviser and Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus — whom people across Bangladesh have brought to office with their support, and who has earned global respect — has clearly said only two days ago that a fair election will be held in the country in February next year.
Farroque accused Jamaat of remaining inactive for ten years and compromising with the Awami League to avoid political cases.
He said Jamaat, along with several other parties, now wants to foil Bangladesh’s election. “We, who once fought with torn trousers and weapons during the Liberation War, remember how you cooperated with Pakistani soldiers — identifying the homes of freedom fighters, burning their houses. You took part in those crimes.”
The BNP leader said Jamaat has a record of changing its position and even joined the national election with Awami League in 1986 and later waged movements with the same party against the BNP.
“You are still conspiring — one day saying you will not join the election without PR, another day demanding a separate referendum before the national election,” he said.
Farroque said the truth is that Jamaat will eventually join the election, whatever it says now to mislead the public.