Dhaka, Aug 10 (V7N) – Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has urged India to expedite the extradition of convicted fugitive ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the suspected killers of Shaheed Osman Hadi, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman told journalists today.
The foreign minister briefed reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following a courtesy call by Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi on the Prime Minister at the Secretariat this morning.
"The issue of the return or extradition of convicted Hasina to Bangladesh came up, and we asked them to expedite the extradition process. We hope India will respond positively in this regard," Khalilur said.
He said the issue of extraditing the suspected killers of Shaheed Hadi, who have been arrested in India, was also raised during the meeting. "We have provided India with all the documents they had requested. This is an extremely sensitive matter for us, and we have asked them to extradite the killers to us as soon as possible," he added.
The foreign minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman welcomed High Commissioner Trivedi, who shared his experiences in Bangladesh over the past few weeks and expressed his happiness at serving in the country. The two sides also stressed the importance of creating an "enabling environment" conducive to advancing Bangladesh-India relations.
Responding to a question about the August 5 event in New Delhi involving Sheikh Hasina, Khalilur said Bangladesh had clearly conveyed its position to India and that the Indian authorities had taken Dhaka's concerns seriously. "They told me yesterday, and they also conveyed to the Prime Minister today, that they understood the matter," he said, adding that the Indian side had expressed regret over what had happened.
Explaining Dhaka's position, the foreign minister said the issue went beyond an expression of regret as it concerned respect for Bangladesh's state institutions. "A state has three pillars: the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. A competent court in Bangladesh tried Hasina and convicted her," he said.
Khalilur said a convicted person should be taken into custody and, if they have anything to say in their defence, should make their case before the court. "What Hasina did on August 5 last amounted to showing contempt for Bangladesh's Judiciary, one of the pillars of the State, and the Government of India allowed that to happen," he said.
Bangladesh expects all countries to respect the country's entire state structure, he added. "We hope the Indian government will understand our position. From my conversations with them, my impression is that they have understood the issue, and we hope they will not do anything in the future that undermines any pillar of our State." Khalilur said he felt "somewhat reassured" following his discussions with the Indian side.
Asked about recent border incidents, including killings along the Bangladesh-India border, he said the matter was mentioned only briefly as such issues are generally dealt with at other appropriate levels.
The foreign minister also said the government had yet to take any decision on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's possible visit to India. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier extended an invitation through a letter handed over on the day the new government was formed, and a separate invitation has been received for the BRICS Summit in his capacity as BIMSTEC Chair, no decision has been taken on either, Khalilur said.
When asked whether the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty and other river-related issues figured in the talks, Khalilur said the meeting was a courtesy call and such substantive matters were not normally discussed between the Prime Minister and an ambassador.
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