Bangla Press Desk: Bangladesh is stepping up efforts to bring ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina back from India as the government wants to ensure that the verdict against her is enforced through the country's judicial process rather than wait for her voluntary return.
Prime Minister's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday that the government had no ambiguity or "strategy" behind its demand for Hasina's extradition and wanted her back to Bangladesh to face the consequences of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) verdict.
"There is no tactic regarding bringing her back to the country. We want to arrest her. She is a fugitive, a death-row fugitive," Zahed said at the government's weekly press briefing at the Secretariat.
His comments came amid renewed diplomatic sensitivity over Hasina's continued presence in India and her recent media engagements.
The government has already formally requested New Delhi to extradite Hasina under the existing India-Bangladesh extradition framework. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has previously said Dhaka wants her return through legal procedures and the bilateral extradition treaty so that she can face cases filed against her.
Hasina, who fled Bangladesh for India following her ouster in August 2024, was sentenced to death in absentia by the ICT in November 2025 in a case involving crimes against humanity linked to the July-August uprising. ICT Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam said on Monday that Hasina no longer had an opportunity to appeal because she did not file an appeal within the stipulated 30-day period.
The government is now maintaining that bringing her back is necessary to ensure justice. "The government is determined to bring Sheikh Hasina to justice. Her trial process will continue in a transparent manner," Zahed said previously.
