Prime Minister cannot visit India until Hasina extradition issue is resolved: Nahid

Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Chief Whip of the Opposition in Parliament, has said that Tarique Rahman cannot visit India until the question of how Sheikh Hasina will be extradited and how Bangladesh’s relations with India will be redefined is resolved.

He made the remarks at an event in Dhaka today, Thursday, following New Delhi’s invitation to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit to India and the BRICS summit. The event was organized by Inqilab Mancha in Shahbagh.

Sheikh Hasina, who took refuge in India after being ousted from power following the mass uprising in Bangladesh, spoke virtually at a press conference in New Delhi on August 5. Nahid claimed that the press conference was held with the direct and indirect support of the Indian government.

He said, “The Indian government is not taking responsibility for that press conference. It is denying it. Think about it, if a pro independence organization from one of the Seven Sisters held a press conference in Dhaka and the Bangladesh government said, ‘It is not our responsibility, we do not know how this happened, we do not support it,’ would anyone believe that?

“So, the press conference held in Delhi was with the direct and indirect support of the Indian government. Whatever Sheikh Hasina says from Delhi should not be taken as her statement, but as Delhi’s statement. India is sending this message to Bangladesh.”

Nahid Islam said, “What is the Indian High Commission’s position on the August 5 press conference? That message has still not come. They should have expressed regret and apologized, and the Bangladesh government should have summoned them and strongly reprimanded them and sought accountability, rather than merely issuing a press statement.”

The NCP convener believes that the press conference was held against the sovereignty of Bangladesh.

“There has been a verdict in the trial, and when a government allows that accused person to hold a press conference, it means the Indian government has taken a position against the democracy, judicial system and sovereignty of this country. This is like declaring a shadow war against Bangladesh,” he said.

The Bangladesh government has repeatedly requested the Indian government to return Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death in a case involving crimes against humanity in Bangladesh. However, New Delhi has yet to respond.

Addressing India, Nahid said it must return the killers of Osman Hadi and Sheikh Hasina, provide Bangladesh with its fair share of river water, resolve the issue of border killings, and then talk about friendship.