NN Online:
Director General of Public Diplomacy wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Toufique Hasan on Thursday said Bangladesh wants India to stop the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from making political statements from the neighbouring country, stressing that Dhaka remains unhappy over such activities.
He made this remark to the media during a weekly briefing. “We have conveyed this to the Indian government through the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka,” he added.
He said the government is unhappy over former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s frequent political statements.
Hasina fled to India on August 5 following a mass uprising led by students and people.
Since August 5, she has been residing in India and continuously issuing political statements from there, the government has observed.
Responding to a question, Toufique said the Indian high commissioner said he would convey the message to his government.
When asked about the process of bringing Sheikh Hasina back from India in relation to the warrant issued by the International Crimes Tribunal, the DG said the foreign ministry has not received any request from the relevant ministry yet.
“If we receive any directive from the concerned ministry, we will take the necessary steps,” he added.
The foreign ministry is trying to ensure that Bangladeshi students, who need to go to India to obtain third country visas, can get their visas from other countries like Vietnam, Uzbekistan or Pakistan, he said.
Toufique said the government has ordered Mohammed Kamrul Islam, counsellor (Labour Wing) at the Bangladesh Mission in Geneva, to return home and dismissed a local staff member from the mission following the harassment faced by Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul in Geneva.
“It was an unfortunate and unexpected incident,” he said.
He also said the ministry has already instructed all Bangladesh missions abroad to take adequate measures to ensure the security and appropriate protocol for high-level government dignitaries during foreign visits.
