India announced on Tuesday that it is currently reviewing the Bangladesh government’s request to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The examination is being conducted according to established legal processes. No further details have been provided at this time.
Key Statements
Jaiswal referred to two separate invitations extended to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit to India and to join the outreach session of the Brics Summit in September and said: “We will keep you updated on this particular matter. The Bangladeshi side had also raised this matter during Trivedi’s meeting with Rahman in Dhaka on Monday. India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, a day following his courtesy call on Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka. On Monday, during his interaction with Rahman, High Commissioner Trivedi extended greetings from Prime Minister Modi and expressed the commitment to collaborate with the Bangladeshi administration and its citizens in a positive, constructive, and forward-looking manner.
New Delhi’s remarks came a day after Dhaka once again called for extradition of Hasina when Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi met Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. “We have made it very clear that this issue is being examined in line with established processes on the Indian side. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal outlined New Delhi’s position a day after Dhaka called for expediting Hasina’s extradition during a meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Indian envoy Dinesh Trivedi in the Bangladeshi capital. The matter has emerged as the main irritant in relations between the two neighbouring countries. At the beginning of the interaction, the Bangladesh Prime Minister welcomed the Indian envoy, who shared his experience of serving in Dhaka over the past two months.
Hasina, 78, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government in August, 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation. Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal were handed the death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic war crimes court, last year after convicting them of crimes against humanity during the crackdown on the anti-government protests in 2024. India said on Tuesday that Bangladesh’s request for the extradition of former premier Sheikh Hasina, who has lived in the country in self-exile since August 2024, is being examined in line with established processes, though a decision is yet to be made.
We will give you an update when there is one,” External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing. The previous government led by Muhammad Yunus had also requested India to extradite Hasina arguing that she was convicted of “crimes against humanity” for the brutal crackdown on the student-led protests. To another question, Jaiswal said two separate invitations have been extended to PM Rahman to visit India — one for a bilateral trip and another to participate in the outreach session of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September. We will give you an update when there is one,” Jaiswal said, speaking in Hindi. “This is a legal matter, in which investigations are ongoing,” he said. Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman described the matter as a “sensitive issue” and said Dhaka had submitted all the documents sought by New Delhi. “High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi called on Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today and sought his guidance on further strengthening the multifaceted and enduring bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh in a constructive manner with a people-centric approach,” the High Commission of India in Bangladesh posted on X. The meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division at the Bangladesh Secretariat assumed significance as Dhaka expressed “hope” that India will expedite the extradition process of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted following a student-led uprising in 2024. “Bangladesh expressed hope that India will expedite the extradition process of Sheikh Hasina.”, according to a statement issued by the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office.
