‘Contrary to the norms of good neighbourliness’

Dhaka has expressed surprise and shock that deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity, was allowed to make a statement at a public event in New Delhi last Friday.

During the event, she openly called for the removal of the Bangladesh government and issued what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as blatant incitements to her party loyalists and the general public to carry out acts of terror aimed at derailing the upcoming general elections, according to a statement released today.

“Bangladesh is deeply aggrieved that while India is yet to act on its obligations to hand Sheikh Hasina over to Bangladesh under the bilateral extradition agreement despite repeated requests by the Bangladesh government, she has instead been allowed to make such inciteful pronouncements from its own soil,” the statement said.

“This clearly endangers Bangladesh's democratic transition and peace and security,” it added.

The ministry said allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting "mass murderer Hasina to openly deliver her hate speech" are contrary to the norms of inter-state relations, including the principles of respect for sovereignty, non-interference and good neighbourliness.

This also constitutes a clear affront to the people and the government of Bangladesh, it said.

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“It sets a dangerous precedent vis-a-vis the future of Bangladesh-India relations and may seriously impair the ability of the future elected polity in Bangladesh to engage, shape and nurture mutually beneficial bilateral relations.

“The unabashed incitements by Awami League's leadership yet again demonstrated why the Interim Government had to ban its activities,” it said.

The foreign ministry said Bangladesh would hold Awami League responsible for committing incidents of violence and terror in the run up to the elections and on the election day, and will take appropriate actions to foil its evil conspiracies.

In the earlier months, the interim government repeatedly requested India to prevent Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024, in the wake of mass uprising, from speaking and inciting violence in Bangladesh.

Dhaka sent official letter to New Delhi, seeking her extradition.

At an event in December last year, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it was Sheikh Hasina’s decision to return to Dhaka or not.