DHAKA: Bangladesh has told neighbor India that it wants former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August, back in the country for “judicial process,” the acting head of the country’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Ties between the South Asian neighbors, who have strong trade and cultural links, have become fraught since Hasina was ousted following violent protests against her rule and she took refuge across the border.
Dhaka’s request to New Delhi on Monday came two weeks after India’s foreign secretary visited Bangladesh and the two countries said they hoped to clear the cloud and pursue constructive relations.
“We sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that the Bangladesh government wants her (Hasina) back here for judicial process,” Touhid Hossain told reporters, referring to diplomatic correspondence between the two countries.
India’s foreign ministry and Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has demanded that India send Hasina back so that Bangladesh can try her for what it says are crimes against protesters and her opponents, and crimes she is accused of committing during her tenure over the past 15 years.
Yunus has also been upset with Hasina for criticizing his administration from New Delhi.
Hasina faces numerous charges, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and murder, among others. She denies the charges.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka this month and reiterated India’s commitment to pursuing a constructive relationship with Dhaka.
New Delhi has said that Hasina came to India at a short notice for “safety reasons” and continues to remain here, without elaborating.
Bangladesh tells India it wants former PM Hasina back for ‘judicial process’
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Bangladesh tells India it wants former PM Hasina back for ‘judicial process’
- Ties between the South Asian neighbors have become fraught since Hasina was ousted and she took refuge across the border
- Bangladesh interim government wants to try Hasina for crimes against protesters, crimes she allegedly committed during her tenure
Bangladesh’s Gen-Z party faces revolt over alliance with religious party, risking its future
- At least 30 senior leaders of the National Citizen Party have openly opposed its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami
- Before the deal, opinion polls predicted Jamaat finishing a close second behind Bangladesh Nationalist Party
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi youth-driven party born out of the country’s 2024 uprising is facing an open revolt from within after sealing an election alliance with a religious group, a move analysts say could jeopardize its future and reinforce established parties.
At least 30 senior leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have openly opposed its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, announced on Sunday, with several resigning in protest.
The Muslim-majority South Asian nation goes to the polls on February 12.
Before the deal, opinion polls had predicted Jamaat finishing a close second behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, while the NCP lagged far behind in third place.
“The NCP presented itself as a youth-driven alternative to traditional power structures. That identity is now under serious strain,” said H.M. Nazmul Alam, an academic.
“Youth-based movements do not collapse only because they lose elections. They collapse when they lose clarity and internal unity.”
’ALLIANCE FOR GREATER UNITY’
The NCP was formed earlier this year by leaders of the protests that ousted long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, 2024, forcing her to flee to India. Driven by Gen-Z activists born after the late 1990s, it says it aims to free the nation from decades of nepotism and the dominance of Hasina’s Awami League and the BNP.
With the Awami League banned, the vote will be effectively a direct contest between the BNP and Jamaat, which has trailed the other two in the past and had not been allowed to contest any elections since 2013 after a court said its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.
An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus revoked all the restrictions on Jamaat in August 2024.
The NCP’s struggle shows the challenges of turning street power into votes and holds lessons for neighboring Nepal, where similar youth-led protests ousted the government this year and fresh elections are due in March, political analysts have said.
NCP chief Nahid Islam told a press conference late on Sunday that the recent killing of 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the uprising, forced his party to seek an alliance to keep at bay forces trying to derail the election through violence.
“The dictatorship we overthrew is attempting to sabotage the election. Therefore, for the sake of greater unity, we have reached an electoral understanding with Jamaat,” said Nahid, 27.
“This was a majority decision within the party, but some may be opposed to it and they are free to take their own decisions.”
Hadi was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier in December while launching his election campaign as an independent candidate. Police say they have identified the killers but have not apprehended them.
’YOUR CENTRIST IDEA AND IDEOLOGY WILL VANISH’
Nahid earlier told Reuters his organization was weak because it had not had enough time to build itself. It was also hampered by scarce funds and an unclear stance on key issues such as rights for women and minorities, Reuters reported in early December, citing party leaders who said alliance talks had been underway for some time.
One senior NCP leader to have resigned is Tasnim Jara, a doctor who left a career in Britain to join the party. She is now seeking the support of nearly 5,000 voters to be allowed to contest as an independent.
“I promised you and the people of this country that I would fight for you and for building a new political culture,” she said on Facebook. “Whatever the circumstances, I am determined to keep that promise.”
Political analyst Asif Shahan, a professor at the University of Dhaka, said the NCP was “doomed.”
“If you go with Jamaat, it will help Jamaat, not you,” he said. “It will give them a liberal cover, and in return, you will become a force for the right. Your centrist idea and ideology — already poorly defined — will simply vanish.”
