Hasina’s visa ‘extended’ amid Bangladesh’s extradition request
India has extended the visa of deposed Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina who has been residing in the country since August last year.
The Ministry of External Affairs, however, refused to comment on the matter.
Sources said the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had been informed about Hasina’s stay being extended in India. Functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the FRRO is the repository of all records of foreigners who come to India on visa.
The visa extension comes in the backdrop of the interim government in Bangladesh seeking Hasina’s extradition. A formal notice has been sent by the Bangladesh High Commission in this regard. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had earlier acknowledged receiving the notice.
Hasina, who fled Dhaka on August 5 during violent protests by students, arrived in India onboard a military plane. The sources said only Hasina’s stay had been extended, it did not mean that an asylum was being offered to her. Hasina has been living under tight security at a safe house in Delhi.
The interim government in Bangladesh had formally sought Hasina’s extradition on December 23. However, India refused to comment on the request. The sources said the existing extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh had clauses which India could use to deny the extradition request.
Bangladesh had yesterday revoked passports of 22 persons for their involvement in enforced disappearances, while 75 others, including Hasina, were implicated in killings of July 2024.
