BNP Calls on India to Extradite Sheikh Hasina for Trial Over Alleged Disruption of Bangladesh's Revolution

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the secretary-general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), urged India to extradite former premier Sheikh Hasina to face trial on charges of conspiring to subvert the revolution in Bangladesh. Hasina, 76, quit and escaped to India on August 5 after widespread demonstrations demanding reforms in her government's policy of quotas to hirings in government jobs.

Talking to the Daily Star, Fakhrul demanded that India extradite Hasina to the legal authority in Bangladesh, stating that the people of Bangladesh have decided that she should be taken to court. He again accused India of not adhering to the values of democracy, because in the first place, it had harbored Hasina, who reportedly hatched a plot to disrupt the revolution going on in Bangladesh.

The violence that followed Hasina's departure has left over 230 dead, with an overall death toll of more than 600 since the student protests began in mid-July. An interim government has been set up to replace her, naming 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus chief advisor.

So, Fakhrul assailed the Hasina regime for allegedly weakening sovereignty and impeding progress over the past 15 years. He accused the PM of creating a massive national debt of Tk 18 Lakh Crore and looting nearly $100 billion that tied with destruction of national institutions.

He praised the interim government for its efforts and stated that the main task before the government is to hand over power to elected representatives through a fair election, though he admitted that cleaning up the mess left by the Awami League government and holding a proper election will take time.

Under her rule, BNP's chairlady and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was given 17 years imprisonment for corruption during Hasina's rule in 2018, was released and provided freedom after Awami League government lost its power. Presently, Zia is under medical attention and treatment, and she has been released by President Mohammed Shahabuddin.