Bangladesh had sent a set of relevant documents to India with the diplomatic letter (note verbale) in December last year seeking deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's extradition and will issue a reminder at an appropriate time.
Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Rafiqul Alam made the remarks while responding to a question during a weekly media briefing on Thursday.
As a journalist wanted to know whether Bangladesh had sent an arrest warrant or all necessary documents to India for Hasina's extradition, the spokesperson also said they had sent all required documents received from the relevant ministry under the extradition treaty and information was included when Bangladesh sent the note verbal to India regarding the extradition.
Asked when Bangladesh will give a reminder to India, the spokesperson said both a diplomatic and political decision. “A reminder will be sent when the leadership decides the timing is appropriate,” he added.
So far, India has not responded to Bangladesh's request for Hasina's extradition, despite the Foreign Ministry's note verbale.
"We continue to expect a response from India," Rafiqul Alam said.
Bangladesh has long been waiting for a reply from India regarding its request for Hasina’s extradition and was supposed to send a reminder after a certain period if no reply is received from New Delhi.
He said the government will take the next step based on the reply from the Indian side.
The spokesperson at India’s Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that they received the extradition request for Hasina from the interim government of Bangladesh.
Hasina is facing over 100 cases with a wide range of charges, including murder, genocide and crimes against humanity in charge of killings during the July uprising that led to 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 requests.
In July 2016, Bangladesh and India amended Article 10 (3) of their bilateral Extradition Treaty to facilitate the swift extradition of fugitive criminals between the two nations.
The interim government claims that Hasina was the key person who passed the order in the "massacre" during the July-August period.
In September, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus said Hasina should be extradited and brought to justice if she committed crimes.
"Why shouldn't she be? If she committed crimes, she should be extradited and brought to justice… she should be facing justice, too," he said while responding to a question at "The New York Times Climate Forward Event."
