PTI | New Delhi
Hours after a special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death, India on Monday said it noted the verdict and that it will engage constructively with all
stakeholders considering peace, democracy and stability in the neighbouring country.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India remains committed to the best interests of people of Bangladesh.
Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and it sentenced her to death. Hasina’s aide and former home
minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also given a death sentence on similar charges.
Hasina, the Awami League leader, has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests.
“India has noted the verdict announced by the ‘International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh’ concerning former prime minister Sheikh Hasina,” the MEA said.
“As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country,” it said. “We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end,” the MEA said. However, it did not comment on Dhaka’s call to extradite Hasina.
Following the verdict, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry demanded that Hasina be immediately handed over under an extradition treaty in view of her sentencing. “This is also a duty for India, as per the extradition treaty existing between the two countries,” it said.
The verdict comes months before parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. Hasina’s Awami League party has been barred from contesting the elections scheduled to be held in February.
