Next step after reply from Delhi
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New Delhi through official channels. We will wait for their reply, and if we don’t receive one within a certain period, we will send a reminder letter,” said Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, spokesperson for foreign ministry.
He made the comments during a media briefing at the ministry yesterday afternoon.
On Monday, the foreign ministry, through its mission in New Delhi, sent a diplomatic note requesting the Indian government to extradite Hasina for judicial proceedings in Bangladesh.
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Dhaka’s next steps would depend on Delhi’s reply. “We don’t want to comment on this at the moment or speculate on the situation.”
Indian media outlets reported on Monday evening that the country’s external affairs ministry had received Bangladesh’s diplomatic note. However, the ministry refrained from making any official comment on the matter.
Hasina faces over 100 cases on charges of murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising, which led to the fall of her government on August 5.
Bangladesh and India signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which was amended in 2016, providing a legal framework for such requests.
‘BANGLADESH WILL SECURE ITS BORDER’
When asked whether Dhaka would consider engaging with non-state actors in Myanmar, such as the Arakan Army, to manage border issues along the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier, the spokesperson said, “Bangladesh will do whatever is necessary for its border security.”
The Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, has taken control of the frontier from the Myanmar junta after weeks of intense fighting. Since November of the previous year, the AA has seized control of 13 out of 17 townships in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to media reports.
About the possibility of reinforcing military presence along the border, Rafiqul said, “We will have to wait a couple of days for a decision.”
He said a high-level meeting on the issue had been held earlier in the day, but declined to provide further details.
On Sunday, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said he had communicated to his Myanmar counterpart that Dhaka could not engage with non-state actors like the AA to address border control issues.
Regarding concerns over a potential new influx of Rohingyas, Rafiqul reaffirmed Bangladesh’s position against allowing more Rohingyas into the country.
Bangladesh is hosting over one million forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar. Most of them arrived in 2017 after a military crackdown by Myanmar.
In the last seven years, not a single Rohingya had returned to Myanmar.