Banaladesh Trial Report:
Regarding the return of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said, “The Indian government has repeatedly answered this through the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. They have said that there is a process, and that the process is legal and well-structured. So, as far as we know, the courts are involved. Therefore, it is not possible to specify any particular timeline for Sheikh Hasina’s return.”
He made the remarks in response to a question from a student during a session titled ‘Power and Prudence’ at the fifth Bay of Bengal Conversation at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Saturday (October 3).
Dinesh Trivedi said, “First, we need to understand the context in which Sheikh Hasina went to India. The Indian Air Force or the Indian Army did not bring Sheikh Hasina to India. It happened because of the unfortunate situation in Bangladesh at that time, and we hope that such a situation never occurs again where innocent people lose their lives. It does not matter where in the world it happens.”
He said, “The military aircraft came to India when India was not prepared. I was watching television and the ticker was saying that she was going somewhere else. At that point, Sheikh Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had no alternative in this regard.”
He further said, “As a neighbour, it was our responsibility to accept the realities of the situation. The circumstances were such that no one was prepared for this. What option did we have? If you had said, ‘No, we will not accept her, we will not allow her to land,’ I do not know what the situation would have been then.”
The high commissioner said this was the historical reality at that time. “In the current situation, the legal process that exists is proceeding at its own pace. Just as Bangladesh is a vibrant democracy and its people respect the rule of law and the judicial system, India, as a vibrant democracy, also respects its legal process,” he said.
