India Extends Sheikh Hasina’s Visa Amid Extradition Calls From Bangladesh's Yunus-Led Interim Government

India has extended the visa of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in the country since August 2024 following her resignation amid nationwide protests.

The extension comes amidst growing calls from Dhaka for her extradition.

Hasina arrived in India on 5 August and has remained incommunicado, reportedly relocated to a safe house in Delhi.

The interim government in Bangladesh, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, formally sought her extradition through a diplomatic note sent to India’s Ministry of External Affairs on 23 December.

The visa extension, approved by the Union Home Ministry and facilitated through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), does not indicate asylum, as India lacks a specific law for handling such cases.

“No one has revoked her visa. She has not applied for political asylum anywhere. Those are all rumours,” Hasina’s US-based son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said last August.

On 6 January, Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Hasina and 11 others, directing police to present them before the tribunal by 12 February.

The tribunal has accused them of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Department of Immigration and Passports cancelled the passports of 97 individuals, including Hasina, citing alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and killings during protests in July.

Major General (retired) ALM Fazlur Rahman, chief of Bangladesh’s National Independent Investigation Commission, stated that the panel intends to visit India to interrogate Hasina regarding the 2009 killings by the Bangladesh Rifles.

“For the purpose of the investigation, the commission will go to India and interrogate Sheikh Hasina if the [Bangladesh] government gives us permission,” Rahman said.

India has remained cautious about Bangladesh’s extradition request, citing incomplete formalities.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal commented, “As far as former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is concerned, we don’t have an update on her plans. It is for her to take things forward.”

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