The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which secured a sweeping victory in the general elections, on Friday reaffirmed its demand for the extradition of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to stand trial.
Shortly after BNP’s landslide victory, party’s Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said his party will formally urge India to extradite Hasina to Bangladesh to stand trial.
“The foreign minister has already pursued the matter of her extradition, and we support it,” senior BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said, PTI reported.
“We have consistently pressed for her extradition in accordance with the law. This is an issue between the foreign ministries of the two countries. We have also urged the government of India to send her back to face trial in Bangladesh,” he added.
Ahmed said Bangladesh sought normal ties with all neighbouring countries, including India, but stressed that relations must be based on equality.
“We want a friendly relationship built on mutual respect and equal footing with all countries, including India,” he said.
This comes after Hasina’s remark on February 12 where she called the elections held in Bangladesh a “sham”.
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India’s stance on Hasina’s extradition
“We have received the request and it is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in November.
Dhaka has demanded that New Delhi hand Hasina over to Bangladesh under a bilateral extradition treaty.
“We remain committed to the best interest of the people of Bangladesh, and to peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all stakeholders,” Jaiswal said in the presser.
Where is Hasina?
His remarks came a day after the BNP’s landslide win in Thursday’s elections, the first national vote since the mass uprising of August 2024 that led to Hasina’s departure from office.
Hasina, who has been living in exile in New Delhi since her ouster, was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal in November 2025 on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the violent crackdown during the 2024 unrest.
Since leaving office, Hasina has largely remained out of the public spotlight in New Delhi, aside from occasional statements and reported sightings at Lodhi Garden.
In January 2026, however, she drew sharp reactions in Dhaka after delivering an address from Delhi calling on citizens to rise up against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
