Bangladesh will seek extradition of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina from India

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bangladesh’s interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said Sunday that his administration will seek the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from India, where has been in exile since fleeing a mass uprising in August.

In a televised address to the nation on his first 100 days in office, Yunus said that the interim government will try those responsible including Hasina for hundreds of deaths during the student-led uprising that ended her 15-year rule. Yunus took the helm on Aug. 8, three days after Hasina fled the country.

He said that not only the deaths in the uprising but all other violations of human rights, including alleged enforced disappearances while Hasina was in power, would be investigated. Bangladesh has sought help from the global police organization Interpol in issuing a red notice for the arrest of Hasina and her associates.

“We will seek the return of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina from India,” Yunus said. “I have already discussed the issue with chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan.”

While Hasina and her close associates are facing numerous criminal charges at home, the Yunus-led government is also pushing for the ICC to take up the case.

Seeking Hasina's extradition could also pose a challenge for India, which has treated her as a trusted friend.

Yunus said his government's most important task was to hold a new election to hand over power to an elected government, but he did not spell out any timeframe. He said his administration would first bring about reforms in various sectors including in the electoral system.

He promised that once the electoral reforms are completed, a roadmap for the new election would be unveiled.

Yunus has been talking to political parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Hasina's main rival, which has sought an election in two to three months. The party believes it will form the next government as Hasina's Awami League party and its allies face a political debacle following her ouster.

Yunus said the Election Commission will be reconstituted soon.

“But as we move forward, we need to complete a lot of work. The train will reach its final station depending on how quickly we can lay down the railway tracks, and this will happen through consensus among the political parties," he said.

Yunus also downplayed as “exaggerated" reports of attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, many of whom complained that hard-line Islamists are becoming increasingly influential since Hasina’s ouster.