Hasina must remain silent in India until Bangladesh seeks her extradition, says Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s caretaker government, said former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political remarks from India were an “unfriendly gesture”, saying she should remain silent to avoid embarrassment to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.

“If India wants to keep her till the Bangladesh government wants her back, the condition would be that she should keep silent,” he said.

In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed as the country’s chief adviser after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values ​​its close ties with India, New Delhi must move “beyond the narrative that paints all other political parties, except the Awami League, as Islamists and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina”.

“Nobody is comfortable with her position there in India because we want her to come back and judge her. She is there in India and sometimes she speaks, which is problematic. If she had remained silent, we would have forgotten her; people would have forgotten her as well as she would have been forgotten in her own world. But sitting in India, she speaks and gives instructions. Nobody likes that,” he said.

Yunus was apparently referring to Hasina’s August 13 statement in which she demanded “justice”, saying that those involved in recent “terrorist acts”, killings and vandalism must be investigated, identified and punished.

“This is not good for us or for India. It creates unease,” he told PTI.

After unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India. Her presence in India for nearly four weeks fueled speculation in Bangladesh.

Asked whether Bangladesh had conveyed its position to India, Yunus said it had been told verbally and quite firmly that it should remain silent.