One of India’s worst fears appears to be coming true. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has demanded that India extradite embattled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina so that she can be tried for the crimes and criminal cases against her.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told News18: “We request them to hand her over to the Bangladesh government in a legal manner. The people of this country have taken the decision to try her. Let her face that trial. Why did she run away? She should be here to face the trial. India cannot continue to protect her forever.”
This has put India in a difficult situation. India has an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, so it can seek extradition if charges are filed against the prosecutor. Sheikh HasinaBut there is one situation where this treaty might not apply.
The treaty was signed in 2013, but there was an amendment in 2016 that allows the exchange of convicts sentenced to more than one year in prison, but does not apply to political prisoners or asylum seekers.
Read also: New murder case filed against ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina over death of fish trader
According to experts, the problem is twofold. If Hasina is asked to be extradited as a political leader, India can always refuse it. Secondly, the treaty says that extradition also has a double penal clause. India can always say that an offence that is considered criminal in both countries can warrant her being returned.
The issue is a thorny one for India. On the one hand, India considers Sheikh Hasina as its friend and does not want to be forced to hand her over, especially since it knows what that means for her. But on the other hand, not handing her over or delaying her could mean that India could antagonize its relations with the current and future regime in Bangladesh.
India is caught between a rock and a hard place and wants to buy time.
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