Dhaka Urges Delhi to Advise Hasina Against Making Political Statements

Bangladesh has expressed strong dissatisfaction over ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's frequent political statements from India and urged the Indian government to prevent such actions, said a foreign ministry’s spokesperson today.

"Since fleeing the country on August 5, the former prime minister has been residing in India and has been issuing political statements continuously from there. We have conveyed our government's discontent over the issue to the Indian High Commissioner (in Dhaka)," said Toufique Hasan, Director General of Public Diplomacy Wing, at a weekly briefing at the ministry here today.

According to Hasan, the Indian High Commissioner assured that he would relay the message to his government. When asked about the process of bringing back Sheikh Hasina from India in relation to the International Crimes Tribunal, Hasan stated that the foreign ministry has not yet received any request from the relevant ministry.

"If we receive any directive from the concerned ministry, we will take the necessary steps (to repatriate Hasina)," he added. On the issue of processing Indian visas for Bangladeshis, Hasan mentioned that the government has communicated with the Indian authorities on the matter and they (India) had said that they halted processing of visa of some categories due to manpower shortage.

The foreign ministry is working to ensure that Bangladeshi students, who now need to travel to India to obtain third-country visas, can acquire their visas from alternative locations such as Vietnam, Indonesia, or Pakistan, Hasan added.