18

Nov

Order on Sheikh Hasina Creates a Difficult Situation for New Delhi

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Bangladesh Foreign Ministry seeking the handing over of former Prime Minister and “fugitive accused” Sheikh Hasina, citing a tribunal's death sentence to the Awami League leader, has created a Catch-22 situation for the Modi government, whether to accede to Dhaka’s demand or turn it down.

In a letter to the Indian authorities, the Bangladesh Ministry, citing an extradition agreement between the two countries, said it was an “obligatory responsibility” for India to facilitate Hasina's return. If New Delhi decides to decline, then it would be a challenge to all bilateral agreements, giving Dhaka an excuse to renege on significant agreements.    

"Providing refuge to these individuals, who have been convicted of crimes against humanity, by any other country would be a highly unfriendly act and a disregard for justice,” the letter from the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry pointed out.

The Ministry was referring to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) observations from earlier today, finding Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal guilty on multiple counts over a crackdown on students in Bangladesh last year.

Apart from Hasina and Khan, former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was also found guilty of committing "crimes against humanity".

Former PM Sheikh Hasina was ousted from Bangladesh following a mass uprising by students against the erstwhile government. Massive protests rocked the country in July last year, which eventually brought down her government and led to her ouster in August.

Ever since, Hasina has been in self-exile in India. According to her son Sajeeb Wazed, Hasina is at a secret safe house in Delhi, where India is providing her full security.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has formally asked India to hand over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for alleged crimes against humanity during last year’s student crackdown. Dhaka argues that an extradition treaty makes it India’s obligation to return her, warning that refusal could jeopardise several bilateral agreements.
Wednesday Wisdom
By Satish Misra
Hasina, ousted after mass student protests, has been living in self-exile in a secret safe house in Delhi under Indian protection. She has dismissed the tribunal’s verdict as politically motivated and issued by an unelected interim government. India now faces a diplomatic dilemma: extraditing Hasina would signal abandoning a long-time ally, while rejecting Dhaka’s request risks pushing Bangladesh closer to China, Pakistan and increasing security threats along the border.

“I must add that I am deeply grateful to the Indian people for providing me with a haven this past year,” Hasina earlier wrote in emailed responses.

The 78-year-old leader had even defied orders from the Bangladesh court, which had ordered her return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her.

Reacting to the death sentence handed to her, Sheikh Hasina denied the accusations made against her in the court and said that the order was made by a "rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate".

"They are biased and politically motivated. In their distasteful call for the death penalty, they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh's last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force," some of her remarks from a lengthy, strongly-worded statement read.

Bangladesh’s letter for extraditing Hasina has thrown many challenges to India’s foreign policy because not accepting it would surely push Dhaka to the China-Pakistan group, which would mean that the Indian border would become more insecure as infiltration of terrorist elements, drug peddling, smuggling and other criminal activities are bound to increase.

The Modi government has been dragging its feet on Hasina’s extradition for many months, but now, after her death sentence, the issue has further limited the options. Agreeing to extradite her would be interpreted as New Delhi has left one of the most reliable friends in the country’s neighbourhood in a lurch. Either way, the Modi government is in a soup. (Dr Satish Misra is a senior journalist and a seasoned political analyst. He has been a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

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