Send Sheikh Hasina back: Bangladesh’s ‘red line’ for PM Rahman’s visit

The Bangladesh government has expressed the need to establish a "propitious environment" for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's upcoming visit to India. In order to achieve this, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry has requested Indian authorities to expedite the extradition of Sheikh Hasina and other fugitive criminals, as well as to hand over the accused killers of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi, in line with their bilateral extradition treaty.

While there is a sense in New Delhi that it must provide a "cogent response" to Bangladesh's extradition request, many in Dhaka view this as a "red line." The extradition request was initially submitted by the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus in 2024 and has been reasserted by the current BNP government, which took office in February.

The request was included in a statement by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on Sunday, which said that a suitable atmosphere must be created for the visit. The ministry emphasized that they had requested the Indian authorities to "expeditiously act" on their extradition request and to hand over the accused killers of Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi.