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MEA says Sheikh Hasina is still in India, declines comment on arrest warrant
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated Sheikh Hasina had come to India at short notice for “safety reasons”
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday confirmed that former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after the dramatic collapse of her government in August, is still in the country.
Hours after Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Hasina citing her alleged involvement in mass killings during violent protests earlier this year, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that she had come to India at short notice for “safety reasons”.
Jaiswal declined to comment on the arrest warrant issued for Hasina by the Bangladeshi tribunal and said: “On the stay of the former prime minister, I had earlier mentioned that she had come here at short notice for safety reasons and she continues to be [here].”
Hasina stepped down on August 5 and fled to India in a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft following the collapse of her administration in the face of nationwide protests led by student organisations. The UN has said more than 600 people, including students, were killed during the protests.
A caretaker administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge five days after Hasina left the country. Calls by several members of this interim setup for steps to extradite Hasina from India have emerged as an irritant in bilateral relations.
Following the proceedings of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday, chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters in Dhaka that an application for an arrest warrant was made in the interest of a thorough investigation.
“The court granted our petition and ordered the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. It further directed that she be arrested and brought before this court by November 18,” Islam said.
More than 60 complaints have been filed against Hasina and other leaders of her Awami League party since the fall of her government, accusing them of enforced disappearances, murder and mass killings.
Jaiswal reiterated India’s concerns about attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu and other minority communities. Referring to recent Durga Puja celebrations, he said: “We saw there was a lot of violence against the Hindu community, there was violence against puja pandals. We call upon the interim government that the assurances they’ve given for protection of minority rights – those must be implemented so that people can feel safe.”
India, he said, currently has limited visa operations in Bangladesh and visas are only being issued for medical and emergency reasons. “As and when the law and order situation improves, and the situation becomes conducive for us to have full visa operations, we will do that,” he said.
