No lack of diplomatic efforts to bring back Hasina: Shama Obaed

Bangla Press Desk:  State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Thursday said there is no lack of diplomatic efforts to bring back former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to the country to face trial but acknowledged that it takes time.

"What she (Hasina) is saying is not relevant at all. Our efforts are underway to bring her back," she told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNB reports. 

The State Minister said the Home and Law Ministries will look into whether there are any complexities on legal grounds.

She said the three ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are working afresh since the formation of the new government in February this year, though the initial process began during the interim government.

The State Minister said the people of Bangladesh want former prime minister Sheikh Hasina extradited.

Reiterating its desire to engage constructively, India on April 17 said it is examining the request for Hasina's extradition as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes.

"There is a request.....the request is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes," Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi, noting that India will continue to engage constructively on the issue with all the stakeholders.

Bangladesh, on April 8, reiterated its request to extradite Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to Bangladesh, both of whom have been awarded the death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal.

"We will continue to seek her extradition through a transparent judicial process. It (the extradition request) has been discussed. It will be dealt with through a transparent judicial process," Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir told reporters recently in Dhaka.