Hasina’s Return Among Bangladesh’s Key Conditions for PM Rahman’s India Visit

Bangladesh has linked Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India to New Delhi’s response to Dhaka’s extradition requests for former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and other fugitives.

The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said Sunday that officials from Dhaka and New Delhi have been holding discussions for several weeks over a possible bilateral visit by Rahman to India. Foreign Ministry spokesperson AKM Shahidul Karim said Dhaka believes the right conditions must be created before the visit can take place. He pointed to Hasina’s public interaction in New Delhi on August 5 as an issue that had affected the discussions.

Bangladesh has asked India to speed up the extradition of Hasina and other fugitives wanted by Dhaka. It has also sought the handover of people accused of killing political activist Sharif Osman Hadi, citing the extradition treaty between the two countries.

Two suspects in Hadi’s killing were arrested in March by the West Bengal Police Special Task Force in Bongaon, near the India-Bangladesh border. Dhaka said it would continue pursuing its “Bangladesh First” policy while seeking stronger ties with neighbouring countries based on sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference and mutual interests.

The Bangladesh government said Hasina’s public appearance in New Delhi had “vitiated” the environment for Rahman’s proposed visit, particularly after her conviction by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal in a crimes-against-humanity case.

India has maintained that the event involving Hasina and Bangladeshi officials was not associated with the Indian government. New Delhi has also said that Dhaka’s extradition request concerning Hasina remains under examination.

Hasina was removed from power in August 2024 following a student-led uprising that turned into a broader anti-government movement. She subsequently fled to India, where she has remained.