New Delhi: India on Monday called for peace, stability, and democratic inclusion in Bangladesh following the death sentence handed to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by a tribunal in Dhaka.
In a carefully worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said New Delhi had “noted the verdict announced by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh” concerning Sheikh Hasina. “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,” the statement read.
The MEA added that India “will continue to engage constructively with all stakeholders” to support these goals — a comment widely interpreted as a signal that New Delhi is maintaining a cautious diplomatic balance amid political turbulence in Dhaka.
The statement came shortly after Bangladesh’s foreign ministry formally requested India to extradite Sheikh Hasina, calling it an “obligatory responsibility” under the existing extradition treaty between the two nations. Hasina, who was ousted from power after violent protests by student groups last year, has been residing in India since fleeing Bangladesh.
The tribunal, which found the former prime minister guilty on charges of incitement, ordering killings, and failing to prevent violence, sentenced her to death along with former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who was also tried in absentia.
Responding to the verdict, Sheikh Hasina dismissed the tribunal’s findings, alleging that it was “a rigged process established by an unelected government with no democratic mandate.”
The development has raised diplomatic and political tensions in the region, with observers noting that India’s calibrated response reflects both its strategic interest in a stable Bangladesh and its sensitivity to the domestic turmoil unfolding there.
