India has extended the visa of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled in the face of the popular uprising, despite receiving a letter from Dhaka for extradition. Sources related to the matter have given this information. News from Hindustan Times.
According to the report of Hindustan Times, 77-year-old Sheikh Hasina fled to India after resigning on August 5 last year in the face of student uprising. He has been out of touch since his arrival at Hindon Airbase, though it is understood that he has been shifted to a safe place in Delhi. The interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, sought his extradition through an oral or unsigned diplomatic letter sent to the foreign ministry on December 23.
Sheikh Hasina’s visa was recently extended to facilitate her stay in India, sources said on condition of anonymity, dismissing speculation that Hasina would be granted asylum in the country, citing India’s lack of specific laws on refugees and asylum.
Without elaborating, the sources said, the move to extend visas involves the Union Home Ministry, which has to sign off on such matters, and is done through the local Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
The Hindustan Times reported on January 3 that the Indian government is unlikely to respond to Bangladesh’s request to extradite Hasina. Because related sources say, Dhaka has not completed the basic formalities required to take forward such a matter.
On Tuesday, the Directorate of Immigration and Passports announced the cancellation of passports of 97 people, including Sheikh Hasina, for their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings during protests in July.
Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, the spokesperson of the Chief Adviser, said in the briefing that the Passport Department has canceled the passports of 22 people involved in the case of enforced disappearance and the passports of 75 people, including Sheikh Hasina, have been canceled due to their involvement in the July murder.
The latest developments come as the International Criminal Tribunal for Bangladesh, set up to try people accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, issued a second arrest warrant for Hasina on January 6, the report said. The tribunal ordered Bangladeshi police officials to arrest Sheikh Hasina and 11 others. They have been asked to appear before the tribunal on February 12.
On the same day, Bangladesh National Independent Commission of Inquiry chief Major General (retired) ALM Fazlur Rahman said the panel members wanted to go to India as part of the investigation into the killing of 74 officers of the then Bangladesh Rifles in 2009.
He said, “The commission will go to India for the purpose of investigation and will interrogate Sheikh Hasina if the government allows us.”
The Hindustan Times report also said that New Delhi sees these steps as an attempt by the interim government of Bangladesh to maintain pressure on the Indian side to extradite Sheikh Hasina.
Reports say that days after Sheikh Hasina’s arrival in India, her American son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has had his visa revoked and has denied reports that he has sought asylum in India. No one canceled his visa. He did not apply for political asylum anywhere. These are all rumours.” He said these things to ANI news agency on August 9 last year.
However, the UK government has effectively rejected any potential asylum request, saying the country’s immigration rules do not allow anyone from outside Britain to apply for asylum. Some reports also mentioned that Hasina’s US visa has been revoked.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which acknowledged receipt of Bangladesh’s extradition letter, declined to comment on the matter. They have also said in the past that it is up to Sheikh Hasina to decide her future plans.
“As far as former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is concerned, we do not have an update on her plans,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing last year.
(Dhaka Times/January 08/FA)
Source: www.dhakatimes24.com
