New Delhi: Bangladesh’s national security adviser Khalilur Rahman met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on the sidelines of a regional security forum in New Delhi hours after Bangladesh sought repatriation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a court handed death sentence to her, The Wire reported.
Though the details of their talks are not available, it is however reported citing a short note issued by the Bangladesh high commission that they ‘discussed work of CSC [the Colombo Security Conclave] and key bilateral issues’.
Rahman, who arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening for the seventh meeting of the CSC, reportedly invited Doval to visit Dhaka.
Bangladesh joined as a full member of the regional security grouping in 2023 alongside India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. India did not issue any official statement about the meeting.
Rahman’s was the second Bangladeshi ministerial-level delegation to visit India since Muhammad Yunus took over the reins of caretaker government after the collapse of the Awami League government August last year.
Rahman’s visit gains importance against the backdrop of the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal’s verdict, which handed death sentence to Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan for ‘crimes against humanity’.
The July-August students’ uprising led to violence before culminating in the fall of her government and Hasin fled to India aboard a Bangladeshi military aircraft.
Following the verdict, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry asked India to “immediately” hand over the convicted individuals under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Responding to it India in a statement said: ‘As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country. We will always engage constructively with all stakeholders to that end.’