Sheikh Hasina extradition request from Bangladesh under review, says India
India on Friday said Bangladesh's request to extradite deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is still under examination. The response from New Delhi came amid
India on Friday said Bangladesh's request to extradite deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is still under examination. The response from New Delhi came amid reports that Hasina is preparing to return to Dhaka to revive her Awami League party. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the request was being considered in line with the legal issues involved. The development comes against the backdrop of strained ties between India and Bangladesh, even as both sides have taken steps in recent months to stabilise relations. Read Full Story "We have received a request for extradition. This request, as we have said earlier as well, is under examination," Jaiswal said.
"The request is being taken into consideration given the legalities that are involved," he added. Last week, sources close to Hasina said the 78-year-old former prime minister is preparing to voluntarily return to Dhaka to revive the Awami League. Hasina has been living in India since she fled Dhaka after the collapse of her government in August 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation. Last November, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged "crimes against humanity" over her government's crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Since that verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law.
"We are all prepared to welcome our leader back," Kazi Nasim Rupak, a member of the publicity sub-committee of the Awami League, told PTI Videos on Friday. Relations between India and Bangladesh saw a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of Hasina's government. The two sides later began efforts to stabilise ties after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Tarique Rahman as prime minister in Dhaka on February 17. Rahman became prime minister after his party's landslide win in the parliamentary polls, which the Awami League was barred from contesting.
In April, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman visited India as part of efforts to repair bilateral ties after more than 18 months of diplomatic strain. It was the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government. India has maintained that Bangladesh's extradition request for Hasina remains under scrutiny, even as reports of her possible return to Dhaka and recent diplomatic contacts underline the wider political and bilateral backdrop to the issue. Ends
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