'Grievous insult': Bangladesh slams Sheikh Hasina's New Delhi press conference

Hasina joined an audio-only interaction organised by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi as Bangladesh marked two years since the July-August 2024 protests that eventually forced her from office.

Her appearance triggered a strong response from Dhaka, which accused India of allowing the former leader to use its territory to make statements against Bangladesh despite concerns raised beforehand.

The development has added another layer to the already strained relationship between Dhaka and New Delhi, with Bangladesh again pressing India over Hasina’s extradition while simultaneously stressing its desire for a constructive bilateral relationship.

Several of Hasina’s associates, including her son Sazib Wazed Joy, former minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel and former national cricket captain and ex-MP Shakib Al Hasan, also joined the event virtually.

Dhaka calls Hasina’s presser an ‘affront’

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday evening, saying it was “outraged” that Hasina had been permitted to engage in a live media interaction from Indian soil.

Dhaka said New Delhi had been informed in advance about the possible consequences of allowing the event to take place and argued that the decision could further affect bilateral relations.

The ministry described the timing of the interaction as particularly significant because it coincided with the second anniversary of the July Revolution.

Calling the event “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh and a grievous insult to the martyrs” of the movement, the ministry accused Hasina and her associates of attempting to deny what it described as facts surrounding the violence during the 2024 protests.

The statement also referred to findings recognised by the United Nations concerning civilian deaths, including the deaths of minors, during the July-August 2024 crackdown.

Dhaka said attempts to challenge or reinterpret those events would not alter what it described as the historical record of the uprising.

Bangladesh repeats demand for Hasina’s extradition

The latest confrontation has also brought Hasina’s extradition back into focus.

Bangladesh said it had repeatedly requested her extradition from India under the 2013 India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty, but claimed that its requests had not received a response.

The government said it continued to seek a relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference and cooperation.

At the same time, it said allowing Hasina to publicly address the media from New Delhi had deepened public anger in Bangladesh.

“On the contrary, allowing her the opportunity to openly interact with the media under any pretext is deeply hurtful to our people’s sentiment and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Dhaka also rejected what it characterised as attempts by Hasina and her associates to undermine the events of 2024.

The ministry said the people of Bangladesh had already rejected such attempts and would continue to do so.

Hasina says she will return to Bangladesh

During the media interaction, Hasina said she remained determined to return to Bangladesh despite the possibility of imprisonment or a death sentence.

“I know they may put me in jail or kill me… I will go back home to be with my people,” she said.

Hasina said she wanted to return to the country and “put the country back on the right track”.

She also said Bangladeshis deserved a state that protected them, an economy that provided opportunities and a democratic system that guaranteed their rights.

The former prime minister described India as a “great friend” of Bangladesh and ruled out the possibility of back-channel negotiations with the government in Dhaka.

Her comments marked her first public media appearance since she fled to India amid the political upheaval of August 2024.

Hasina was convicted in absentia

Hasina is facing serious legal consequences in Bangladesh.

She was convicted and sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal over the deadly crackdown on the 2024 protests.

The current Bangladeshi government has repeatedly called for her return to face the legal process, while Hasina has remained in India since leaving Bangladesh.

Her appearance from New Delhi on the anniversary of the uprising has carried particular political significance in Bangladesh, where the government and supporters of the 2024 movement have strongly opposed her return to political life.

Dhaka’s latest statement described Hasina as an “absconding, convicted genocider” and accused her of making hostile remarks against the Bangladeshi state and its people during the interaction.

Shakib Al Hasan’s ancestral home attacked

The fallout from the Delhi event also extended to Shakib Al Hasan, who joined Hasina’s press conference virtually and shared the event on his verified Facebook page.

Hours after the interaction, Shakib’s ancestral home in Magura district came under attack.

According to police, a group of young men gathered outside the property in the Keshabmore area of the town at around 9 pm on Wednesday.

The group allegedly pelted the house with stones, breaking window panes, before pouring petrol over the upper section of the iron gate and setting it on fire.

Abdullah Al Mamun, officer-in-charge of Magura Sadar police station, said residents managed to extinguish the fire before it spread further.

He also said that no member of Shakib’s family was present at the house when the incident occurred.

Shakib, a former Bangladesh national cricket captain and former Awami League lawmaker, has remained a prominent figure associated with the previous government.

His participation in Hasina’s Delhi interaction came amid heightened political sensitivities surrounding figures linked to the former Awami League administration.

Bangladesh-India ties under renewed pressure

The dispute over Hasina’s presence in India comes at a sensitive point in Bangladesh-India relations.

Dhaka has sought to maintain engagement with New Delhi while simultaneously demanding action on the former prime minister’s extradition.

The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said its objective remained a “constructive, mutually beneficial and forward-looking” relationship with India.

However, it argued that the Delhi media interaction had complicated those efforts by allowing Hasina to publicly address Bangladeshi political developments from Indian territory.

Dhaka also objected to what it described as attempts to deny or distort the findings concerning the 2024 violence.

The latest exchange highlights the continuing political significance of Hasina’s presence in India nearly two years after she left Bangladesh.

Bangladesh under a new political order

Bangladesh is now governed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, whose party won the February general election after the Awami League was barred from contesting.

The political transition has fundamentally changed the country’s relationship with the Awami League and its former leader.

Hasina’s latest public intervention comes as Bangladesh commemorates the movement that brought an end to her long tenure in power.

Her decision to speak from Delhi on the anniversary has consequently placed her back at the centre of political debate in Bangladesh.

While Hasina has indicated that she intends to return despite the legal risks, Dhaka continues to demand her extradition and maintains that the cases against her must proceed.