Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has reaffirmed that securing the extradition of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India remains its top priority. Yunus’ press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, stated in a media briefing on Tuesday that Dhaka is committed to bringing Hasina back to Bangladesh to face trial in person.
He emphasised that it is up to the people and political parties of Bangladesh to decide whether Hasina’s Awami League can continue in politics. However, people accused of involvement in killings, enforced disappearances, and other crimes must be brought to justice.
According to Alam, a recent fact-finding report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) highlighted crimes against humanity committed by Hasina during her tenure. He claimed that these findings, along with reports from rights organisations, have increased pressure on India to return Hasina to Bangladesh. Citing a survey by an Indian media outlet, Alam said that 55% of Indians supported her repatriation, while a smaller percentage preferred sending her to another country, and only 16-17% favoured allowing her to stay in India.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Office previously sent a diplomatic note requesting Hasina’s extradition, which New Delhi acknowledged but did not elaborate on.
Hasina secretly fled to India after her nearly 16-year rule was overthrown in a student-led uprising on August 5, 2024. The interim government has since accused her and several of her senior cabinet and party members of crimes such as mass murder and enforced disappearances. While many of these leaders have been arrested and are awaiting trial, others remain in hiding domestically and abroad.
Alam’s statement came a day after Hasina accused Yunus of turning Bangladesh into a “terrorist hub” and creating lawlessness. Speaking virtually with widows and children of policemen killed in last year’s unrest, she vowed to return and “avenge the deaths of our policemen,” claiming she narrowly escaped death when her government was toppled. She expressed her belief that divine intervention spared her life for a greater purpose.
Earlier, on February 5, Hasina addressed a meeting of the now-disbanded Chhatra League, the student wing of her party. That same day, an enraged mob demolished her ancestral home at 32 Dhanmondi, which had served as a memorial to her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. Rahman and most of his family were assassinated in a military coup on August 15, 1975.
The attacks on Hasina’s residence and other Awami League properties escalated nationwide, continuing for three days. In response, Yunus, in a media interview, urged India to prevent Hasina from making public statements, claiming that her remarks were inciting unrest in Bangladesh.
