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Published : 15 Jul 2026, 01:04 AM
As speculation grows over former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's return to Bangladesh, India says its position on the issue remains unchanged.
At the weekly briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the process as a legal issue that will follow a certain procedure.
"There is no change in our approach to the matter. Any extradition matter is a legal issue, and it will be dealt with accordingly," Jaiswal was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
On Jul 10, Hasina told Reuters that she and senior party colleagues planned to return home from exile in India around December and surrender.
"They may arrest me on my return, they may even kill me," Hasina was quoted as saying.
"Still, I have to go," she said. "My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed."
Hours later, the Bangladesh government requested all local media outlets not to broadcast or publish the speech of Hasina, who is in exile in India and facing a death sentence for crimes against humanity linked to the July Uprising.
Her party's activities are banned in Bangladesh while many of her party colleagues are either convicted or stand trial over “killings” linked to the 2024 student-led protests that had toppled her government.
Meanwhile, International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam told reporters on Jul 12 that Hasina will not have the opportunity to surrender if she is returned from India under the extradition treaty.
Prime Minister's Information Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday the Awami League chief was free to bring the "best lawyer in the world" to defend her at the ICT, should she return to face trial.
Dhaka's efforts to bring Hasina back from India remain on track, with no diplomatic setback, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on Jul 9.
