Dhaka: Bangladesh’s interim govt will do whatever it takes to get deposed PM Sheikh Hasina back home to face justice, foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain said in remarks that put the onus on India to decide “whether to hand her over or not”.
“If our legal system wants, we will definitely try to bring her back. There is an agreement (with India) and legal processes. It is better not to speculate,” he told reporters.
On whether the interim govt was aware of Hasina’s whereabouts in India, the foreign affairs adviser said, “It is better to ask India about it.”
Bangladesh has revoked Hasina and her kin’s diplomatic passports, raising questions about whether she can stay in India any longer and whether she faces possible extradition. The approval for the ex-PM to enter India after she fled Bangladesh in the wake of a student-led uprising last month had been granted at short notice, according to officials at the Indian ministry of external affairs.
Hossain said in response to a question on MoUs with India that such agreements were not legally binding, and there was always scope for reviewing them in national interest. He confirmed the interim govt’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus will attend 79th UNGA session this month.
HC rejects plea for ban on Awami League
Bangladesh HC summarily rejected a writ petition seeking a ban on Hasina’s Awami League and cancellation of its registration for its alleged involvement in killings during the student-led mass upsurge. A bench of Justices AKM Asaduzzaman and Md Mahbubul Islam said the interim govt was “sincere” about prosecuting the people who ordered that protesters be shot at during the movement. It said individuals, not the party, committed this crime. At the hearing, attorney general Md Asaduzzaman urged the court to reject the petition, saying the current administration had no intention of banning any political organisation.
Crackdown on Hasina’s cabinet
Meanwhile, the interim govt continued its crackdown on top Awami League leaders, arresting former commerce minister Tipu Munshi. Hasina’s private industry and investment adviser and prominent businessman Salman F Rahman, former ministers Anisul Huq, Dr Dipu Moni, and Golam Dastagir Gazi, former deputy speaker Shamsul Haque Tuku, former state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Captain AB Tajul Islam (Retd), former deputy sports minister Arif Khan Joy, Awami League organising secretary Ahmad Hossain, former in formation minister and current president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Hasanul Haq Inu, and former minister and president of Workers Party of Bangladesh Rashed Khan Menon are among the arrested top politicians from Awami League-led 14-party alliance. A court, meanwhile barred 17 former ministers from leaving the country.
