Dhaka slams Hasina’s Delhi address
The Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Tuesday expressing outrage over an evening media interaction held by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi.
The ministry described Hasina as an "absconding convicted genocider" and said she and her associates used the event to launch "venomous vitriol against the State of Bangladesh and her people."
The statement said Dhaka had earlier conveyed concerns to the Government of India about the potential impact of such an event on bilateral relations, yet the interaction was allowed to proceed. Officials called the development "deeply regrettable."
Coming on the second anniversary of the July Revolution, the ministry said Hasina's appearance on Indian soil constituted "an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh and a grievous insult to the martyrs of the July Revolution." It rejected what it termed her denial of facts established by the United Nations regarding the killing of civilians, including minor children, during July-August 2024 under the previous government.
"The people of Bangladesh had already rejected such heinous attempts in the past and continue to do so now," the statement said. It added that Bangladeshis remain resolved never to return to "the dark days of fascism" and that the country "will never be a client State." Convicted figures associated with the former regime, it declared, "will never have a place in the polity of Bangladesh."
The ministry reiterated Bangladesh's desire for a constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with India founded on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference, and national dignity. It noted, however, that repeated requests for Hasina's extradition under the 2013 Bangladesh-India Extradition Treaty have so far received no response.
Allowing her to interact openly with the media, the statement said, is "deeply hurtful to our people's sentiment and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations."
The press release underscores ongoing tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi over the status of the former prime minister, who remains in India following the events of 2024.
