Bangladesh has not made a decision yet on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to India, his press secretary said on Friday, 21 August. The statement came amid reports that Rahman would be visiting New Delhi from August 23-25.
"No decision has yet been made on the visit," Rahman's Press Secretary A A M Saleh told Reuters, adding that Dhaka was waiting for India's response on the extradition of Hasina and "other fugitive criminals".
Uncertainty has been looming over Rahman’s first official visit to India for quite some time now, as Dhaka and New Delhi discussed the exact dates earlier too, as per multiple media reports.
Uncetainty over Rahman's visit
Rahman's visit hinges on India’s assurance that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina will not be allowed to engage in activities from its territory that could create instability in Bangladesh, Daily Star, Bangladesh's leading English-language newspaper said last week. Earlier reports said Rahman would be in India on 21 August, which is todod.
Hasina fled to India after student-led protests ended her long rule and has lived there in exile. Dhaka has repeatedly asked New Delhi to extradite her. India has said that it is examining the request.
No updates to share, says MEA
In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs did not have any comments to make on the visit, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a regular media briefing on Friday.
“Regarding the question about the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, I have nothing to say on this matter. If I have any updates, I will share them with you,” Jaiswal said.
Rahman's six-month-old government has sought to maintain good relations with India since coming to power, but signalled last week that a more favourable diplomatic environment was needed for the trip, days after Hasina addressed journalists in a move condemned by Dhaka.
The Hasina factor
Forced to flee Bangladesh following violent protests against her government, Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia in November for ordering a deadly crackdown on the student-led uprising.
She has denied the charges, dismissing them as politically motivated, and told reporters that she would return to her country in December.
The reports of Rahman's first visit to India came after Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi held a one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 11 August, a day after the High Commissioner met Rahman in Dhaka.
The two neighbouring nations have had a strained relationship since deadly anti-government protests brought down Hasina's government and prompted her to escape to neighbouring India, where she currently remains.
On August 5, Hasina appeared in a audio-only address organised by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia in New Delhi to mark the second anniversary of her ouster following the 2024 student-led uprising, an event that drew strong objections from Dhaka.
