India’s Narendra Modi speaks with then-Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi on June 22. Hasina was later ousted and fled to India. © Reuters
DHAKA — Bangladesh may seek the extradition of its ousted ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who fled to neighboring India after she was toppled by a student-led uprising.
The dramatic fall of Hasina’s government has strained ties with New Delhi as a new caretaker administration in Dhaka — led by Nobel Prize winning economist Muhammad Yunus — slammed comments the 76-year-old former leader made this week from her refuge.
The mooted extradition request comes as at least three legal cases, including allegations of murder and kidnapping, have so far been filed against Hasina in Bangladeshi courts.
More than 400 people are thought to have been killed in weeks of police-protester clashes that were initially sparked by anger over public-sector job quotas but quickly targeted Hasina herself.
Hasina’s 15-year-old government, which fell less than two weeks ago, had been accused of being responsible for myriad abuses, including forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Ratul Muhammad, an activist and one of the plaintiffs who filed a case against Hasina, told Nikkei Asia that she is “accused of committing brutal murders through her alleged orders to police to use live bullets against the student protesters.”
At least three of Hasina’s former ministers and advisers have been arrested in Bangladesh.
People throw eggs at Anisul Huq, Bangladesh’s law minister under the deposed government, as he appears at a Dhaka court to face a murder charge. © ReutersOn Thursday, Touhid Hossain, the interim government’s de facto foreign minister, was quoted as saying that Hasina faced “so many [legal] cases” that officials may “have to ask for her … return to Bangladesh.”
A day earlier, in a meeting with India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Hossain warned that recent comments made by Hasina were “not conducive” to fostering stronger bilateral relations, according to a post on the foreign affairs ministry’s website.
Two senior Bangladeshi government sources, who spoke with Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Hossain had made the complaint to India’s envoy.
This week, Hasina made her first public comments since fleeing, delivered through her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. The U.S.-based Joy has previously suggested his mother may attempt a political comeback, as the interim government looks to hold fresh elections.
Hasina described the protests that led to her ouster as “terrorist aggression” and called for action to be taken against those responsible for the “killings and sabotage.” She has not addressed the charges filed against her.
Touhid Hossain, Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister, has said Dhaka may ask India to extradite Hasina. © ReutersFollowing Hasina’s departure, protesters in Dhaka attacked and set fire to a museum dedicated to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the founder of an independent Bangladesh.
Hasina blasted the incident and directed members of her formerly ruling Awami League party to gather at the museum site on Aug. 15, previously observed as a day of mourning to mark the assassination of her father and other relatives during a 1975 military coup.
But Hasina appearing to fan subversion from abroad made for “terrible” optics, said Shafquat Rabbee, a U.S.-based geopolitical analyst.
India cannot be planning on hosting Hasina forever, he added, saying “it just makes the fallen dictator a spoiler in bilateral relationships.”
The countries have long had close economic ties and Hasina was an ally of Indian leader Narendra Modi — who this week said he hoped for calm as fresh violence erupted in Bangladesh while officials scramble to restore order after many police went into hiding.
Sreeradha Datta, a professor of international affairs at India’s O.P. Jindal Global University, questioned whether India could block Hasina’s public comments.
“The Indian government has no control over what she says,” Datta noted. “A political figure like Sheikh Hasina is unlikely to make statements that align with the interim government’s views … but why should this affect India’s relations with Bangladesh’s interim government?”
The danger to previously strong ties was stark, countered Shahab Enam Khan, a professor of international relations at Dhaka’s Jahangirnagar University.
“[Hasina’s comments] may further incite public resentment,” he said. “Delhi, while dealing with the complex political situation in Bangladesh, needs to adhere to diplomatic norms and adjust its policies in line with the interim government’s concerns and communication.”
The two countries have an extradition treaty. But Hasina’s future in India likely hangs on several considerations for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress party, Khan said.
“Delhi’s decision will largely depend on the BJP’s geopolitical considerations … and [Congress’] domestic political dynamics and longstanding political and familial ties with Sheikh Hasina,” he added.
source : asia.nikkei