AL govt played no role in Lord Carlile's deportation by India: Quader

The Awami League has denied Lord Alexander Carlile’s allegation that the Bangladesh government played a role in the deportation of the British MP and international counsel for jailed BNP chief Khaleda Zia by India.

Obaidul Quader rather asks why Bangladesh government would have interfered in India’s internal affairs.

“I want to make it clear that it’s for India to decide whom it will allow entry,” the road transport and bridges minister told reporters during a visit to work for repairing roads ahead of Eid-ul-Azha in Gazipur on Friday.

India's external affairs ministry cited lack of proper documents as the reason behind turning Lord Carlile back, Quader said.

“Bangladesh government had no involvement here. It’s an internal matter of India. Why would the Bangladesh government interfere here?” he asked.

After he was turned back from the airport by the Indian authorities in New Delhi on Thursday, Lord Carlile alleged India was 'supinely' agreeing to the 'intolerable pressure' of the Sheikh Hasina administration of Bangladesh and called it shameful.

"My particular role is to examine the evidence and judgments against her (Khaleda Zia), and to advise and comment as to whether they fall within international and Common Law Rule of Law norms, which are applicable in Bangladesh," said Lord Carlile.

He also alleged that the ruling Awami League had resorted to frivolous cases and torture to keep the Zia family and the BNP out of the upcoming general elections.

New Delhi questioned his intention behind holding a press briefing in India instead of the UK on his Bangladeshi client’s case.

"His intended activity in India was incompatible with the purpose of his visit as mentioned in his visa application," the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.

Kumar also said he suspected there was an attempt by Lord Carlile to "create some kind of a problem" in the relationship between India and Bangladesh and “misunderstanding between India and the BNP”.

The BNP said it was ‘shocked’ at India’s denial of entry to Lord Carlile.

“We believe this incident is inconsistent with practice of freethinking in India, the largest democracy in the world,” Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said in a statement. 

Lord Carlile chose India as the venue of the press briefing after Bangladesh denied him entry, he claimed.

A high-profile lawyer who held several judicial roles, Lord Carlile was appointed to the BNP leader's legal team in March.

Khaleda has a series of criminal cases filed against her that the BNP claims are part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics.

She was convicted in the first case in February and sentenced to five years for misappropriating Tk 21 million in foreign donations received by an orphanage trust set up when she was last prime minister, from 2001 to 2006.