Guwahati: Bangladesh’s Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman has said the government is pursuing legal and diplomatic channels to secure the extradition of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India, describing her as a convicted criminal and reiterating Dhaka’s request under the bilateral extradition treaty.
Speaking to journalists after inaugurating a training workshop in Dhaka on Sunday, Asaduzzaman said the government is taking necessary legal steps to bring Hasina back and would follow due process, according to reports by Bangladeshi media outlets bdnews24 and the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
According to bdnews24, the law minister said Hasina’s conviction by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal defined her legal status in the eyes of the government. He added that the matter of her extradition rests with the Indian government, as Dhaka had already submitted a request under the bilateral treaty.
Asaduzzaman said the Ministry of Home Affairs is handling the matter because it concerned the extradition treaty with India, while the Law Ministry is not directly involved. He said the government would proceed in accordance with the law rather than emotion and would follow the prescribed legal process if India hands Hasina over to Bangladesh, BSS reported.
India has previously acknowledged receiving Bangladesh’s extradition requests for Hasina but has not announced a decision on handing her over. The Ministry of External Affairs has said the requests are being examined through established procedures.
Hasina fled Bangladesh for India on August 5, 2024, following a mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule. An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus subsequently took charge.
In November 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes against humanity committed during the July-August 2024 uprising. Tried in absentia, she was sentenced to death on one charge and life imprisonment on another.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, formed the government after parliamentary elections in February this year.
During an audio-only virtual press conference organised in New Delhi on August 5, Hasina said she intends to return to Bangladesh in December, despite the possibility of imprisonment or death.
The event triggered a sharp reaction from Dhaka. Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said it was “outraged” that Hasina had been allowed to address the media. India subsequently distanced itself from the interaction, stating that it was organised by a private media organisation and that the government had no involvement in it.