New Delhi: Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on November 17 said that he will seek the repatriation of former interim prime Sheikh Hasina who is currently in India since her ouster from power in August.
Bangladesh state media broadcast an address to the nation from Yunus on the occasion of the completion of 100 days of his interim government, which took over after Hasina fled for India on August 5 after the students-led reform movement led to the fall of her government.
Bangladeshi news agency UNB reported that Yunus pledged the interim government would “seek the repatriation of the deposed dictator, Sheikh Hasina, from India.”
“Not only for the murders of July and August, but we’ll prosecute all the crimes committed over the past 15 years. Many people have been subjected to enforced disappearance and murdered during this time,” the chief adviser said.
He announced that the number of enforced disappearances that took place during Hasina’s rule, which are under investigation, could “exceed 3,500.”
This appears to be the first instance of Yunus making such a significant commitment in a public speech.
In September, during an interview with the Indian news agency PTI, he had remarked that Hasina should remain quiet “till the time that Bangladesh wants her back.”
Yunus appeared to be responding to Hasina’s August 13 statement, where she demanded “justice” and called for accountability for those involved in recent “terror acts,” killings, and vandalism.
This statement remains Hasina’s only public comment since her flight. It was posted on the social media accounts of her US-based son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had informed parliament in August that Hasina was allowed to enter India after seeking permission on “short notice.” However, no further clarification about her status in India has been provided since then.
In answer to a question at a weekly media briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that “she had come here at a short notice for safety reasons, as she continues to be”.
