‘Hasina, Quader handover key to India ties’
Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday that handing over fugitive and convicted individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, who are currently staying in India, is an important condition for
easing relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
The adviser made the government’s position clear while responding to journalists’ questions at a press briefing on the progress of various ministries’ activities and other contemporary issues.
The briefing was held in the afternoon at the conference room of the Press Information Department at the Secretariat.
Dr Zahed said the issue had also been raised prominently during a courtesy meeting with the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.
“In our meeting with the High Commissioner, we clearly raised, from our side, the issue of bringing back Sheikh Hasina and all other fugitives in India,” he said, adding that Bangladesh had conveyed to the Indian side that the matter should be considered seriously in the interest of strengthening working engagement between the two countries.
Asked whether Bangladesh was also seeking the return of Quader and other accused individuals alongside Hasina, the adviser said, “If we are seeking Sheikh Hasina, why would we not seek Obaidul Quader and others as well?” He reiterated that the extradition of the fugitives was “a very important condition” for easing relations with India, and said Hasina’s record of “brutality” extended well beyond the events of last July, continuing for years and involving numerous individuals.
On the statements fugitive accused have been making on Facebook and other social media platforms since their sentencing, Dr Zahed said they were “living a life of comfort abroad” while issuing statements and advice that were “severely hurting the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh.”
He said the government hoped New Delhi would understand this sentiment and act on it by handing the fugitives over.
The adviser described justice for crimes committed under Awami League rule as the government’s top priority, saying there would be “no compromise on justice” and that any accused individual was free to appear in court, given that the judiciary was now functioning independently.
“The party that suffered most under Awami mafia rule is now at the helm of the state,” he said.
Turning to local government elections, Dr Zahed said that while the Election Commission is constitutionally independent in conducting national and presidential elections, decisions on local government polls are made jointly through discussions between the commission and the government.
He said the upcoming local government elections would be fully participatory and held without party symbols.
On the recruitment of workers for Malaysia, the adviser confirmed that information about 10,000 workers being sent free of cost was accurate, based on figures provided by the relevant ministry.
He also called for a change in mindset among officials and the public to improve citizen services, saying the use of the word “sir” should not be made mandatory in any government office.
Asked about regulating battery-run auto-rickshaws, Dr Zahed acknowledged that the livelihoods and mobility of a large number of people were linked to the vehicles.
He said the government did not intend to ban them outright, but that a policy was being drawn up quickly to bring them under specific safety and route arrangements.
Principal Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmed and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Dr Md Alam Mostafa were also present at the briefing.
