Foreign Affairs State Minister Humaiun Kobir has said Bangladesh will not issue any ordinary passport or travel pass to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death. Instead, Dhaka wants her extradition from India under the existing bilateral treaty.
He made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka after seeing off a Chinese delegation led by Liu Haixing, minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Kobir described Hasina as a fugitive and said she could not be treated as an ordinary traveller. He argued that a passport was not required to bring back a person accused of criminal offences, as the process should follow judicial procedures under the extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India.
“We want her handover,” he said, adding that the government would seek her return in accordance with the agreement between the two countries.
On regional cooperation, the state minister said a proposed trilateral corridor involving China, Bangladesh and Myanmar could turn the region into an important trade hub. Dhaka was interested in joining the initiative, but a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis was necessary first.
Kobir also expressed hope that Liu Haixing's visit would further strengthen and deepen bilateral and strategic ties between Bangladesh and China.
Liu left Dhaka on Thursday after a three-day visit.