New Delhi: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s India bilateral visit plan hinges on “a propitious environment” and expeditious action to “extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals”, along with the accused killers of Osman Hadi, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.
At a press briefing, A.K.M. Shahidul Karim, the ministry spokesperson said that while Bangladesh and India have been in touch with each other for “several weeks on the possibility of a bilateral visit”, the process was “vitiated by the open press interaction in New Delhi on 5th of August by Sheikh Hasina, who has been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity”.
“We have made our position clear on this matter. We are of the view that a propitious environment needs to be created for this visit,” he said. “To this end, we have requested the Indian authorities to expeditiously act on our request to extradite Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals, and to hand over Bangladesh the accused killers of Shaheed Shaheed Osman Hadi in compliance with our bilateral extradition treaty. We are awaiting their response.”
The demand has complicated preparations for what would be Rahman’s first visit to India since taking office in February. The two governments have been discussing the timing of the trip for several weeks, with India proposing 21-22 August, as reported by ThePrint.
Bangladesh, however, favours an early September visit, citing the country’s domestic political calendar.
India invited Rahman for a bilateral visit in February, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said Friday, refusing to elaborate any further. India has also invited the PM to attend the BRICS summit next month in his capacity as chairman of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC.
However, Dhaka prefers a state visit, which would give the two governments an opportunity to address the full range of bilateral disputes, rather than confining discussions to the margins of a multilateral gathering.
The timing remains unsettled. Bangladesh is holding a presidential election on 20 August, while its parliament is scheduled to begin its third session on 27 August. Those commitments have made an early September trip more convenient for Rahman, according to people familiar with the discussions.
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, is expected to meet Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman again as the two sides seek to finalise a date. Trivedi had earlier met him amid diplomatic tensions. Local Bangladeshi reports had earlier claimed that the possibility of Rahman attending the BRICS session had “effectively vanished” following Hasina’s media event.
“We reiterate that we will continue to pursue our Bangladesh First policy to promote friendly bilateral relations with other countries, including our neighbours, on the basis of sovereign equality, national dignity, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual benefit,” Karim said at Sunday’s briefing.
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