Bangladesh government ‘outraged’ over Sheikh Hasina’s press conference in India

Published 5 August 2026 · local

The Bangladesh government on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) said it was “outraged” by deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press conference in New Delhi. “Dhaka deeply

The Bangladesh government on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) said it was “outraged” by deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s press conference in New Delhi. “Dhaka deeply regrets that in spite of concerns conveyed a priori to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of this event on the reset of our bilateral relations, this public event was permitted to be held,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Bangladesh said that its “repeated requests” to extradite Ms. Hasina to Bangladesh “have not yet elicited a response”.

During an audio-only virtual press conference, her first public media interaction since fleeing to India on August 5, 2024, following a massive protest, Ms. Hasina declared that she is determined to return to Bangladesh in December to put the country on the “right track”. Attendees were unable to see the former prime minister and heard only her voice. The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said it had conveyed its concerns to the Government of India in advance about the “likely ramifications” of the event for bilateral relations, but the interaction was allowed to take place.

The statement said Bangladesh desires to maintain a “constructive, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and national dignity”. On the contrary, it said, permitting Ms. Hasina to publicly interact with the media has hurt public sentiment in Bangladesh and was “detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations” between the two neighbours. The MoFA expressed disappointment that its requests seeking Ms. Hasina’s return under the India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty signed in 2013 had not yet received a response.

Last November, Ms. Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in Dhaka for alleged “crimes against humanity” over her government’s brutal crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Since the verdict, Dhaka has been urging New Delhi to extradite her to face the law. The statement described Ms. Hasina’s remarks from India as an “affront” to Bangladesh’s sovereignty and an insult to those who lost their lives during the July Revolution. (with inputs from PTI)