New Delhi: Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus issued a strong appeal to the Indian government, urging the cancellation of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s passport after reports of her visa extension floated in the media.
According to the Times Of India report, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam stated “If a passport is cancelled, the issue of a visa no longer exists.” A formal notice has been sent to all Bangladeshi diplomatic missions globally, he added.
The request comes after Bangladesh confirmed the revocation of Hasina’s passport along with 96 others. Authorities cited links to enforced disappearances and violence in July as reasons for the revocations. Adding further pressure, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) issued an arrest warrant for Hasina and 11 others.
Hasina, a leader of the Awami League, fled Dhaka last August amid widespread protests that led to the collapse of her government and has since resided in India.
India’s reported extension of Hasina’s visa, allegedly on a “technicality,” has further aggravated the situation. Former Additional Solicitor General of India, Vikas Singh, however, dismissed any suggestions of asylum being granted, arguing that extradition is impossible for politically motivated crimes. He pointed out that the arrest warrant stems from a Bangladeshi domestic court, and its enforcement requires extradition from India – a process unlikely to happen in this instance.”The International Criminal Tribunal is a tribunal set up in Bangladesh on the basis of a domestic law of Bangladesh where they recognise certain international crimes and this arrest warrant is by a domestic court of Bangladesh. For that arrest warrant to be made effective, there will have to be an extradition from India. It is only after extradition from India that this warrant can be made effective,” he said, according to an ANI report.
