ബംഗ്ലാദേശ് മുൻ പ്രധാനമന്ത്രി ഷെയ്ഖ് ഹസീനയുടെ കൈമാറ്റ വിഷയത്തിൽ കൃത്യമായ സമയപരിധി നൽകാനാവില്ലെന്ന് ബംഗ്ലാദേശിലെ ഇന്ത്യൻ ഹൈക്കമ്മീഷണർ ദിനേശ് ത്രിവേദി വ്യക്തമാക്കി. ഇത് നിയമപരമായ നടപടിക്രമങ്ങളിലൂടെയാണ് മുന്നോട്ട് പോകുന്നത്. ഹസീനയുടെ ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്കുള്ള വരവ് അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമായിരുന്നുവെന്നും അയൽരാജ്യമെന്ന നിലയിൽ മാനുഷിക പരിഗണനയാണ് നൽകിയതെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം പറഞ്ഞു.
The Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh said, 'Again and again, the government of India has replied to this that there is a process, and the process is legal, and it is well structured'
India cannot give a timeframe for the return of ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina as Dhaka's extradition request is being examined through a legal process involving the courts, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday.
"Nobody can give you a timeframe (over Hasina's return)," Trivedi said at a discussion organised by a private think tank in Dhaka, responding to questions on repeated requests from Bangladesh for Hasina's extradition.
"Again and again, the government of India has replied to this that there is a process, and the process is legal, and it is well structured," he said.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government in August 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation. India's external affairs ministry has maintained that the Bangladesh government's request to extradite Hasina is being examined in line with established processes.
Bangladeshi PM Tarique Rahman, in August, urged Trivedi to expedite the extradition request, underscoring the need to create a "conducive environment" to advance bilateral relations.
Trivedi also addressed the circumstances surrounding Hasina's arrival in India, emphasising that she was not brought into the country by the Indian Air Force or Army. A Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carried her to India on August 5 as protesters moved towards her official residence.
"At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life, because situations are such where at times you are not prepared for it," Trivedi said.
"What was our choice? If you had said no, we wouldn't have accepted; we wouldn't have given landing permission. Things would have been, I don't know what," he said.
He questioned what India's alternative would have been at the time.
"What was our choice? If you had said no, we wouldn't have accepted; we wouldn't have given landing permission. Things would have been, I don't know what," he said.
Trivedi described the circumstances in Bangladesh as "tragic" and said such a situation should never be repeated anywhere in the world.
The comments came during the fifth edition of the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 in Dhaka. Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who delivered the opening remarks at the event, was not present during Trivedi's panel discussion.
The remarks were Trivedi's first explicit comments on the extradition issue. He had previously declined to comment on matters involving "politics".
Hasina's government was toppled in August 2024, after which an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus assumed office on August 8 and governed Bangladesh for the next 18 months. India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated during the Yunus-led administration.
During that period, Hasina was tried in absentia by a special tribunal and sentenced to death. The interim government also disbanded her Awami League party and sought her extradition through a diplomatic note.
After coming to power following the February 12 elections, which barred the Awami League from contesting, Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party government endorsed the ban on Hasina's party and repeatedly renewed the demand for her extradition.
The extradition issue has since become a major point of strain in India-Bangladesh ties and has also affected Rahman's proposed visit to New Delhi.
India had invited Rahman to attend the BRICS Summit last month, while a separate bilateral invitation had been in place since February. Rahman declined the invitation to attend the BRICS outreach summit.
A virtual press conference addressed by Hasina in New Delhi on August 5 also added to the strains. The Bangladesh foreign ministry had said the atmosphere for Rahman's visit had been "vitiated" by Hasina's virtual press interaction.
India has maintained that it had no role in the media event concerning Hasina and does not endorse anything said at the forum about the Bangladesh government.
Despite the downturn in bilateral relations, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said after meeting Trivedi on Tuesday that Dhaka was "positive" about progress in discussions on Rahman's proposed India visit, though no date has been fixed.
Last month, Hasina declared that she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December as she was prepared to face arrest or even a death sentence to "restore democracy and justice" in the country, even as the Bangladesh government and courts continue the crackdown on Awami League leaders.