 "Former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Source: Reuters | File.")
Bangladesh’s new regime headed by Muhammed Yunus has sought the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India.
Since her ouster as the Bangladeshi premier in August, Hasina has been living in India in exile.
After weeks of protests against her 15-year rule, demonstrators backed by radical Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami and the Bangladeshi military overthrew Hasina in August. As the military turned against her, she fled to India for her life.
After ousting Hasina, the Bangladeshi military and agitating groups imported Yunus from Europe and propped him as the unelected leader of Bangladesh. Since his anointment, the new regime has presided over a crackdown of Hasina’s Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) and has slapped charges against her and her supporters. They had repeatedly spoken against India for giving Hasina refuge and had sought her return to Bangladesh so they could extract retribution.
In a brief statement on Monday (December 23) Yunus’ Home Affairs Adviser, Lieutenant General (Retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the foreign ministry has initiated proceedings for Hasina’s extradition.
“A letter has already been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The process is underway for extradition. We have a prisoner exchange agreement with India. It will be carried out under that agreement,” said Chowdhury, according to Dhaka Tribune.
While Hasina was friendly to India and cracked down on Islamists and terrorists in Bangladesh, the new regime is increasingly accommodative of Islamists. The new regime of Yunus is also effectively rewriting history of Bangladesh by removing founding father Mujibur Rahman from public spaces and recultivating ties from Pakistan — the nation against whose genocidal rule Bangladeshis once fought for freedom.