Extradition of Hasina a legal matter: India

 
NEW DELHI, NOV 10: India on Tuesday reiterated that the extradition of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a legal matter and would be dealt with accordingly.

The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal made this point while replying to questions regarding the modalities on the extradition of the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Asked if a person who does not have a passport can be extradited to his/ her country, the MEA Official Spokesperson said, " Now you are asking me a technical question. Obviously, for travel of people you need a travel document but this is a technical matter and I will come back up you on this."

The nature of modalities for Hasina's return to her country have been a subject of periodic debate and discussion in both New Delhi and Dhaka.

The Bangladesh government asserted on Monday that Sheikh Hasina can return to Bangladesh through an " acceptable prisoner exchange" programme as per the India Bangladesh extradition treaty.

After a London-based law firm requested the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh for a new passport and a National Identity Card for Hasina, the Acting Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Humaiun Kobir, said that Bangladesh will seek the return of Sheikh Hasina through an acceptable prisoner exchange programme.

Kobir told the journalists in Dhaka that Hasina is a terrorist who fled to India after committing crimes.  He said that India should hand over Hasina to Bangladesh under the extradition treaty. He said that Bangladesh will not issue a passport to any terrorist and that there is no provision for such an action. 

The former Bangladesh Prime Minister's passport was revoked when she fled to India in August 2024 after her government was toppled in an uprising.