The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that the status of Bangladesh鈥檚 deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina in India was a matter of the Indian government鈥檚 consideration.
About a public demand for disclosing all the treaties Bangladesh has so far signed with India, it said that all the documents related to the deals had already been made available on the Indian external affairs ministry鈥檚 web site and anyone could access those.
鈥楾he status of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina is an issue of the Indian government鈥檚 consideration,鈥� Bangladesh foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad Rafiqul Alam told a weekly press briefing at his Segun Bagicha office in the capital Dhaka.
He made the statement after being asked about the present status of Hasina who had fled to India and taken refuge there since the fall of Awami League regime amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Rafiqul, also director general of the public diplomacy wing at the ministry, said that Bangladesh鈥檚 all bilateral treaties signed so far with India were available on the web site of the Indian external affairs ministry.
Replying to a question about the authenticity of those documents, he said, 鈥業 have found the documents, signed by both sides, available on the Indian external affairs ministry鈥檚 web site. Making the treaties public cannot be an issue here, as all the documents are already in the public domain.鈥�
In October 2024, the foreign affairs adviser to the interim government, Md Touhid Hossain, said that they were not aware of the present whereabouts of Sheikh Hasina as there were rumours on social media at that time that she had left New Delhi for the United Arab Emirates reportedly amid pressure from the United States.
鈥榃e tried to know about her present location through diplomatic channels in Delhi and the UAE, but could not confirm it,鈥� Touhid told reporters at his office in Dhaka on October 8.
The deposed prime minister Hasina鈥檚 son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is also staying abroad, on October 7 told a private television in Bangladesh that her mother was still staying in New Delhi.
She is now facing more than 200 cases, mostly related to murders and crimes against humanity committed during the anti-discrimination student movement in July-August of the past year.
Several former Awami League ministers and leaders have also fled to India for shelter after the political change.
Bangladesh authorities have already revoked the passports of Sheikh Hasina and her other cabinet members.