Dhaka. Nearly one and a half years after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh, the country today got a new Prime Minister in the form of Tariq Rahman. With this a new era began in Bangladesh. While Bangladesh adopted an openly anti-India stand during the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, the BNP has shown good signs ahead of returning to power. BNP has talked about increasing cooperation with India. The party’s Secretary General has recently made it clear in a statement that the issue of Sheikh Hasina’s extradition will not become a reason for sourness in the relations between the two countries.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said these things just before taking oath. He has said that Bangladesh will continue to try to extradite Hasina through legal means, but will not let the issue derail cooperation with India. It is noteworthy that former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been living in India since the widespread protests in the country in 2024. In Bangladesh he has been declared a fugitive and a murderer.
Alamgir said, “We believe that former PM Hasina has indeed committed serious human rights violations. There is a demand to punish her. We believe that India should hand her over to us. But not handing over Hasina to Bangladesh will not hinder our relations with India. We want to build even better relations.”
During this, Fakhrul admitted that there are definitely differences between the two countries but they will be resolved. He said, “There are many difficulties in the relations between America and China, yet they are working with each other. We should not get stuck on just one issue in India-Bangladesh relations.”
At the same time, he also took a dig at the provocative statements being made by Bangladeshi leaders. He said, “We cannot fight a war with India. We need to talk. Those who talk of fighting India are speaking like mad.” Apart from this, he also considered issues like Ganga Water Treaty as important. He suggested that diplomatic engagement would be needed to resolve these issues.
