India is unlikely to respond to Bangladesh’s extradition request for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, people familiar with the matter said, as Dhaka has not completed key formalities required to proceed with such a case. .

gave Request for extradition The move follows a note verbale or unsigned diplomatic correspondence sent to the Ministry of External Affairs by the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on December 23. By Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

The note’s verbal form is among the lowest level of diplomatic exchanges, and is not typically used for sensitive matters such as extradition requests, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Hasina, 77, has been in India since she fled Dhaka after resigning in the wake of nationwide protests led by student groups. Younis and other leaders of the caretaker administration have pointed to Hasina’s presence in India and her comments during her exile as a source of tension.

Read this also Bangladesh: Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched a fresh attack on interim leader Yunus.

The demand for extradition is seen in some quarters in New Delhi as a “public position” by Bangladesh’s interim government to appease domestic constituencies, particularly student groups that are growing in influence. are doing and demanding to bring the former prime minister back to the country. People said above.

“Extradition is not a simple process and both the requesting and receiving parties have certain responsibilities. The person who is the subject of the extradition request also has powers. Those powers have yet to be exercised,” in People. One said.

The People noted that the person whose extradition is sought has the right to file a legal challenge and this option has not been taken up.

In addition, the 2013 India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty contains provisions under which an extradition request can be rejected. Article 6 of the treaty, or the “political offense exception”, states that extradition may be refused if the offense requested is an offense of a political character.

Article 8, which lists the grounds for refusing extradition, states that a person cannot be extradited unless he has been “accused in good faith in the interests of justice.”

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed on December 23 that the Indian side had received a note verbale from the Bangladeshi side regarding the extradition request, but declined to comment further.

The people also pointed out that the Indian side highlighted the way forward in bilateral relations during Foreign Secretary Vikram Masri’s visit to Dhaka last month.

An official statement issued at the end of Masri’s one-day visit on December 9 said he expressed “India’s desire to develop positive and constructive relations” with Bangladesh based on mutual trust and mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns. ” highlighted.

Extending India’s support for a democratic, stable and inclusive Bangladesh, Masri told his interlocutors that bilateral engagements in areas such as connectivity, trade and energy were “set to benefit the people of Bangladesh”. .

While India has concerns about the targeting of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, there are indications that power centers in Dhaka are softening their attitude towards India. Hasina’s presence in India and Bangladesh’s extradition request were published by a leading Bengali newspaper on Wednesday in a wide-ranging interview with Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-ul-Zaman.

Zaman said Bangladesh is in many ways dependent on India, an “important neighbour”, and will not do anything that goes against New Delhi’s strategic interests. He said India was interested in Bangladesh’s stability and there was a give-and-take relationship between the two sides that “should be on a fair basis”.

On Wednesday, Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister Tawheed Hussain also spoke about the need to balance the extradition request and other issues. “This [extradition] One of these issues and there are many bilateral issues between the two countries… we will move forward with all these issues,” he told reporters when asked about India’s extradition request. On the possible effects of rejecting

The fishermen were released.

Late on Thursday, India and Bangladesh announced the exchange of 185 fishermen from the two countries who were detained for crossing the international maritime boundary, a move that has strained bilateral ties in recent months. It indicates a positive development.

Bangladesh authorities have arrested several Indian fishermen in recent months for unknowingly crossing international maritime boundaries and entering Bangladeshi waters, the foreign ministry said in a statement. It said several Bangladeshi fishermen had been arrested by Indian authorities under similar circumstances. The exchange of 95 fishermen from India and 90 from Bangladesh will be completed on January 5, the two sides said.

“Earlier today, 95 Indian fishermen were handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard by the Bangladeshi authorities on January 5 to be handed over to the Indian Coast Guard,” the Indian statement said.

A statement from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said the process of mutual repatriation of the fishermen began on Thursday and will be completed on January 5. Two Bangladeshi fishing vessels detained in India and six Indian fishing boats detained in Bangladesh will be exchanged between the two coast guards. , he said.