With its foreign policy “friendship to all, malice towards none”, Bangladesh does not take any side in any international conflicts between the countries.
But with the recent India, Canada row, Bangladesh is raising its own long-pending issues with Ottawa.
Returning Noor Chowdhury - convicted killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – is a priority of the government.
Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen has talked to the media on the issue and once again said that “Canada must not be a hub of all the murderers.”
Bangladesh High Commissioner in Ottawa Dr Khalilur Rahman asked all to raise their voices and keep demanding justice for the murder of Bangladeshi Canadian Sharif Rahman.
He also said that several pending investigations involving attacks on Bangladeshi Canadians in Canada “never saw the lights”.
Sharif Rahman, owner of the Curry House in Owen Sound, Canada, was attacked and murdered by the miscreants in front of his restaurant on August 17.
Canada has long been blamed for giving space for the Sikh separatist movement which wants a homeland for Sikhs to be created in Punjab (or Khalistan), India.
Indian missions in different parts of the Western countries also came under attacks by the Sikh separatists.
Amid such tension, on September 18, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government was investigating possible ties of India in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on June 18, in British Columbia.
India has forcefully denied such claims – calling them “absurd” and politically motivated.
New Delhi also stopped issuing new visas for the Canadians, and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. Trade talk between the countries also stalled.
In a recent interview with India Today, Foreign Minister Dr Momen opened up on Canada's refusal to extradite Noor Chowdhury, while replying to the question of India, Canada row.
“We have a very good relationship with India and we have a good relationship with Canada. Both countries are friends. I don’t know the details of this issue between India and Canada but I know the issue we have with Canada,” he said, while raising the Noor Chowdhury issue during the interview on September 29.
“And we have been requesting the Canadian government to send back the self-confessed killer of Bangabandhu, the father of our nation. Unfortunately, Canada is not listening to us and they have come up with a variety of excuses. So, we also went to the Canadian court to understand what his status is since he is staying in Canada for a long time. We want to know whether he is a Canadian citizen or not.”
“I know if anybody is a murderer, they try to take shelter in Canada under varieties of false pretense, and in the process, Canada is becoming a hub of murderers,” he said.
“Canada is a lovely country. It's a great country, but this particular law is affecting Canadian reputation. So, Canada should not allow killers, provide them a safe home in Canada.”
Bangladesh High Commissioner Dr Khalilur Rahman started a social media campaign on Saturday in his X, formerly twitter, for the justice for Sharif Rahman.
“Let's all demand justice for Sharif Rahman,” he wrote with the hashtags #Justice Delayed; #Justice Denied.
“Bangladeshi-Canadian should raise their voice and keep demanding immediate justice for the murder of Sharif Rahman so that the perpetrators and killers are arrested and brought to justice without any delay,” he wrote, adding that he had visited the family in Canada.
“The High Commission will follow up the investigation into the murder with the Canadian Authorities,” the high commissioner said.
He demanded the Canadian authority to seriously investigate the murder and said: “if they track the numbers that were active at that Curry House place easily the numbers can be traced as well as the Owners of these devices and users of those devices and numbers.”
He said the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada also observed several pending investigations involving attacks on Bangladeshi Canadians in Canada “never saw the lights”.