Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri has questioned Dhaka’s insistence on pursuing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s return exclusively through an extradition treaty after Bangladesh rejected a passport and national identity card request made on her behalf in New Delhi.
In an interview with Indian news agency ANI, Sikri claimed the BNP government does not genuinely want Hasina to return voluntarily even though she has said she is willing to go back and contest cases in Bangladesh’s courts.
Referring to a November 9 letter from London-based law firm Matrix Chambers seeking a passport and NID at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, Sikri argued that because Hasina’s passport has been revoked, requesting a travel document was logical and could enable a swift return to face legal proceedings, whereas extradition typically drags on for two to three years.
Bangladesh turned down the request, with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir reiterating Dhaka’s commitment to the extradition framework and declaring that “no passport will be given to a fugitive terrorist like Sheikh Hasina.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report