DHAKA, Dec 24, 2024 (BSS) – Dhaka will send a reminder letter to New Delhi, demanding return of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, if Indian government does not respond to the diplomatic note handed over on Monday.

“So far, we are yet to receive any reply from New Delhi in official channel. We will wait for their response, and if no reply comes within a certain period, we will send a reminder letter,” Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam told the weekly briefing at the ministry this afternoon.

On Monday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, through its mission in New Delhi, sent a diplomatic letter requesting the Indian government to extradite Sheikh Hasina for judicial proceedings in Bangladesh.

Responding to queries, the spokesperson said Dhaka’s next steps to bring Hasina back would depend on India’s reply. “We don’t want to comment on it now or speculate about the situation,” Alam added, without disclosing any specific timeline for the waiting period.

Indian media outlets reported on Monday evening that the country’s Ministry of External Affairs had received Bangladesh’s diplomatic note regarding the extradition request. 

However, the Indian ministry refrained from making any official comments.

"We confirm that we have received a note verbal from the Bangladesh High Commission today regarding an extradition request. At this time, we have no comment to offer on this matter," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said as quoted by India Today during a press briefing.

Sheikh Hasina is accused of in over 100 cases and faces a wide range charges, including murder, genocide, and crimes against humanity related to the killings during the July uprising that led to make her flee to India on August 5.

Bangladesh and India signed an extradition treaty in 2013, which was later amended in 2016, providing a legal framework for such request.