Sheikh Hasina has made a big political mistake by seeking a new passport to return to Bangladesh, said Dr Asif Nazrul, former law adviser to the interim government. The move, he argued, has made it easier for Bangladesh to have her extradited from India.
He made the comments in a post on his verified Facebook page on Monday (9 November).
“Sheikh Hasina has asked for a passport to come to Bangladesh. That means she thinks the situation is such that she can come to Bangladesh and face trial. But the problem is that she is a convicted criminal,” Asif Nazrul wrote.
He noted that the Bangladesh government has already written formally to India seeking Sheikh Hasina’s extradition. A convicted person whose extradition has been requested does not need a new passport to return home, he wrote; she must come back as a convicted criminal. If the Indian government wished, it could arrest her and hand her over directly to Bangladesh.
In the former adviser’s view, by seeking a new passport Sheikh Hasina has herself eased the extradition process. The Bangladesh government can now argue that she wants to return precisely because the conditions for a fair trial exist in the country.
That, he wrote, could further narrow the room for refusing to return Sheikh Hasina on the argument that the trial is politically motivated, and so strengthens the Bangladesh government’s hand in pressing India on extradition.
Ending the post with words addressed to Sheikh Hasina, Asif Nazrul wrote: “Sheikh Hasina, you have made a mistake. Everyone understands that you will not return to the country. You are only adding to the danger for your party’s ordinary leaders and activists.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report