India allowing Hasina to speak publicly raises questions over future ties: Shama

Bangladesh is concerned about the future of ties with India after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was allowed to speak from India, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed has said.

Asked about the issue at the foreign ministry on Thursday evening, she said Dhaka had conveyed its position to New Delhi in diplomatic language and had repeatedly sought clarity on what kind of relationship India wanted with Bangladesh.

Hasina, sentenced to death for violent suppression of July protests, spoke by audio link at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia.

Wednesday marked the second anniversary of the fall of the Awami League government in the face of the July Uprising.

Hasina said she would return to Bangladesh in December but would not announce a specific date yet.

Hasina also alleged, without providing evidence, that several organisations had turned the 2024 student protests into a “violent movement”.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced her to death in absentia in November.

She declined to answer when asked whether she would apologise or express regret for the deaths.

Bangladesh had earlier sought India’s cooperation to prevent Hasina, considered a fugitive by the court, from conducting political activities from New Delhi.

Despite that, India allowed her to address the press conference, drawing an angry response from Dhaka.

“When a convicted accused says such things from Indian soil and the Indian government allows it, it naturally raises concerns for Bangladesh and its people about where our relationship will stand in the future,” Shama said.