Bangladesh asks India to clarify stance on Hasina's planned New Delhi speech

DHAKA: Bangladesh has asked India to clarify its stance on exiled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s planned virtual address from New Delhi, warning that allowing political activities by a fugitive could hurt improving bilateral relations.

The remarks were Bangladesh’s first official response to Hasina’s planned appearance at an August 5 event hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi, marking the second anniversary of the student-led uprising that toppled her government.

The issue comes as Dhaka continues to seek Hasina’s extradition from India, where she has lived since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024. Despite multiple cases against her, Hasina told Reuters in an interview that she plans to return to Bangladesh in December.

Hasina says will return to Dhaka ‘this year’

“We are moving forward with India with a forward-looking approach. We don’t want that progress to be affected,” Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam told reporters late on Monday. “India has to be clear about its stance.”

The FCCSA said Hasina, 78, will address the New Delhi event by video link alongside her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and other speakers. The club did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Bangladesh government concerns.

Islam said Bangladesh had repeatedly conveyed its concerns to India over Hasina and other Awami League leaders making political statements from Indian soil.

“We do not want India-Bangladesh relations to be harmed by statements from fugitive accused individuals,” she said, adding that India had previously indicated it did not expect fugitives to engage in political activities from its territory.

Bangladesh’s Hasina plans December return with party colleagues to surrender

While stressing that the event was not organised by the Indian government, Islam said Dhaka would raise the matter through diplomatic channels if necessary.

There was no immediate response from the Indian foreign ministry. Relations between the neighbours have been strained since Hasina’s removal from power, although both sides have recently signalled a willingness to rebuild ties through greater engagement and cooperation since Tarique Rahman’s government took office after February’s election.

Hasina has remained in India since her government was overthrown after weeks of deadly protests.

Bangladesh has since sought her extradition, and in 2025 she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity over the 2024 crackdown, which the United Nations estimated killed up to 1,400 people. Hasina has rejected the verdict as legally void.