The government and people of Bangladesh have expressed surprise and shock that fugitive Sheikh Hasina, convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity, was permitted to make a statement at a public event in New Delhi on January 23, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. MoFA, in a statement, said Hasina openly called for the removal of the government of Bangladesh and issued blatant incitements to her party loyalists and the general public to carry out acts of terror to derail the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh. "The unabashed incitements by Awami League's leadership yet again demonstrated why the interim government had to ban its activities," said the interim government. Bangladesh is deeply aggrieved that while India is yet to act on its obligations to hand Sheikh Hasina over to Bangladesh under the bilateral extradition agreement, despite repeated requests by the Bangladesh government, she has instead been allowed to make such statements from its own soil, said the ministry. "It sets a dangerous precedent vis-a-vis the future of Bangladesh-India relations and may seriously impair the ability of the future elected polity in Bangladesh to engage, shape, and nurture mutually beneficial bilateral relations," it said.
