January 26, 2026
DHAKA – Dhaka has expressed surprise and shock that deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal in a case related to the July uprising, was allowed to make a statement at a public event in New Delhi on Friday.
During the event, she openly called for the removal of Bangladesh government and issued blatant incitements to her party loyalists and general public to carry out acts of terror in order to derail the upcoming general election in Bangladesh, said the foreign ministry in a statement yesterday.
“Bangladesh is deeply aggrieved that while India is yet to act on her obligations to hand Sheikh Hasina over to Bangladesh under the bilateral extradition agreement despite repeated requests by the Bangladesh government, she has instead been allowed to make such inciteful pronouncements from its own soil,” the statement said.
“This clearly endangers Bangladesh’s democratic transition and peace and security.”
The ministry said allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting “mass murderer” Hasina to openly deliver her hate speech are contrary to the norms of inter-state relations, including the principles of respect for sovereignty, non-interference and good neighbourliness.
This also constitutes a clear affront to the people and the Bangladesh government, it said.
“It sets a dangerous precedent vis-a-vis the future of Bangladesh-India relations and may seriously impair the ability of the future elected polity in Bangladesh to engage, shape, and nurture mutually beneficial bilateral relations.
“The unabashed incitements by Awami League’s leadership yet again demonstrated why the interim government had to ban its activities.”
The foreign ministry said Bangladesh would hold the AL responsible for committing incidents of violence and terror in the run up to the elections and on the election day, and will take appropriate actions to foil its evil conspiracies.
In the earlier months, the interim government repeatedly requested India to prevent Hasina, who fled to India on August 5, 2024, amid uprising, from speaking and inciting violence in Bangladesh.
Dhaka sent official letter to New Delhi, seeking her extradition.
At an event in December last year, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Hasina would decide if she wants to return to Dhaka.