Bangladesh’s dangerous drift in foreign policy

Making Sheikh Hasina's extradition the effective price of a prime ministerial visit risks reducing an important diplomatic relationship to a single unresolved dispute and limits Bangladesh’s own strategic options.

New Delhi: The most troubling aspect of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s proposed visit to India is not the visit itself, but the conditions Dhaka appears to be attaching to it. A bilateral visit between two neighbouring countries should ordinarily be an opportunity to repair political differences, expand economic cooperation and establish a working relationship with a new government. Instead, Dhaka has indicated that the creation of a “propitious environment” for Rahman’s visit is linked to India acting on its extradition requests, particularly the demand for the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has said that officials from the two countries have been in contact for several weeks over a possible visit, but claimed that the process was disrupted by Hasina’s public interaction in New Delhi on August 5th. Foreign Ministry spokesperson A.K.M. Shahidul Karim said Dhaka had asked India to expedite the extradition of Hasina and other fugitives and to hand over suspects wanted in connection with the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Dhaka has described these demands as necessary for creating the appropriate atmosphere for the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s visit.

There is nothing unusual about Bangladesh pursuing the extradition of a former prime minister or seeking cooperation in a criminal investigation. Dhaka is entitled to present its case under the bilateral extradition treaty and seek assistance from New Delhi. The difficulty arises when such requests are transformed into a political condition for high-level engagement. Extradition is ultimately a legal matter, and India has its own judicial and statutory procedures governing such requests. It cannot be treated simply as an issue to be settled through political bargaining between the two governments.

This distinction is particularly important in the case of Sheikh Hasina. India gave her refuge after the fall of her government in August 2024. Her presence in India is now one of the most contentious issues in the bilateral relationship, and Dhaka is understandably determined to pursue her return. But making her extradition the effective price of a prime ministerial visit risks reducing an important diplomatic relationship to a single unresolved political dispute. It also leaves little room for the two governments to address the many other issues on which their interests coincide.

There was, in fact, evidence that the relationship had begun moving in a more constructive direction. India had already extended an invitation to Rahman for a bilateral visit and another invitation for the BRICS summit. Following Hasina’s August 5th remarks, New Delhi publicly distanced itself from her criticism of the Bangladeshi government and made clear that it did not endorse comments directed against the country’s duly constituted government. The meeting between Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi and Rahman on August 10 also suggested that both sides were interested in keeping diplomatic channels open.

Dhaka’s latest position risks reversing that movement. Instead of allowing the two governments to rebuild confidence gradually, Bangladesh has introduced a condition that India may find difficult to accept in the manner demanded by Dhaka. The result could be another period of diplomatic stagnation at precisely the moment when both sides have an interest in........

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