Bangladesh's foreign ministry summons Indian envoy over Hasina’s statements

DHAKA: Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to express its "serious concern" over the "incendiary statements" made by deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India.

Hasina, 78, fled to India in August last year after her Awami League government was toppled in a violent student-led street protest and continues to stay there.

She was sentenced to death by a special tribunal last month after being convicted on charges of crimes against humanity. Bangladesh has been demanding her extradition.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian High Commissioner today to convey the Government of Bangladesh’s serious concern to the Government of India for allowing fugitive Sheikh Hasina to continue to make incendiary statements calling upon her supporters to engage in terrorist activities in Bangladesh, aiming to thwart the upcoming parliamentary elections,” a foreign office statement said.

Bangladesh reiterates its call for her “expeditious extradition” alongside former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to face death sentences handed down by the special tribunal last month, it added.

The envoy’s attention was drawn as well to “anti-Bangladesh activities” by other fugitive Awami League members staying in India, the statement said, claiming that they were “planning, organising and helping to carry out terrorist activities inside Bangladesh" to disrupt the upcoming elections.

“The Indian government was called upon to expeditiously act to end the criminal actions by these fascist terrorists and extradite them to Bangladesh as soon as possible,” it said.

Bangladesh will hold general elections on February 12. The Awami League has rejected the election schedule and demanded a neutral caretaker government to hold “free and participatory” elections.

The Indian envoy was summoned two days after Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the student leaders from the July-August 2024 protests, was shot in the head. He is critical. Hadi leads the right-wing Inquilab Mancha that spearheads a campaign to arrest “all terrorists” of the disbanded Awami League from the central to grassroots levels and ensure security of the “July warriors.”

The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown, called Operation Devil Hunt 2, amid escalating fears over the law and order situation.

The foreign office said Verma was told that Dhaka further sought Delhi’s cooperation in preventing the escape to India of the suspects of the attack on Hadi and “in case they manage to enter into Indian territory, to ensure their immediate apprehension and extradition to Bangladesh.”

“The Ministry emphasised that as a neighbour, India is expected to stand with the people of Bangladesh in upholding justice and safeguarding democratic processes,” it said.

According to the statement, High Commissioner Verma said, “India looked forward to peaceful elections in Bangladesh and expressed his country’s readiness to extend all cooperation in this regard.”