In a significant development, India has extended the visa of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, allowing her to continue her stay in the country. This move comes amid renewed calls from Bangladesh for her extradition, citing her alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings during her tenure.
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year amid a people’s uprising against her Awami League government, has been living in India since then. Her visa was recently extended by the Indian authorities, facilitating her continued stay in the country. The extension was approved by the Union Home Ministry and processed through the local Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
The development assumes significance as Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been pressing for Hasina’s extradition. On December 23, the Bangladesh government sent a note verbale to the Indian External Affairs Ministry, seeking her extradition. Additionally, Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal has issued a second arrest warrant against Hasina, accusing her of enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity.
The tribunal has directed Bangladeshi police officials to arrest Hasina and 11 others and produce them before the panel on February 12. Furthermore, the chief of Bangladesh’s National Independent Investigation Commission, Maj Gen (retired) ALM Fazlur Rahman, has expressed his panel’s desire to visit India to interrogate Hasina regarding the 2009 killings by the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles.
It is worth noting that India does not have a specific law for dealing with refugees and matters such as asylum. Therefore, speculation about Hasina being granted asylum in India has been dismissed. The Indian External Affairs Ministry has maintained that it is up to Hasina to decide her future plans.
