New Delhi:

The political churn in Bangladesh is that country’s “internal matter” but India is keen to continue what was a stable relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told NDTV Tuesday afternoon, underlining the maxim that neighbouring nations are “dependent on each other”.

In a wide-ranging interview Mr Jaishankar touched on Russia’s war on Ukraine and Delhi’s potential peacemaker role in that conflict, as well as Iran leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s remark, the war in Gaza, and a flurry of foreign visits in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

“What happens is their internal matter. Bangladesh is our neighbour and the relationship, on our part, is something we want to keep stable. We have good trade… our people-to-people ties are good… I want to keep the relationship that way,” Mr Jaishankar said on the Bangladesh crisis.

Bangladesh battled civil unrest and violence last month – the result of a student-led movement against quota in government jobs – that forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign. Ms Hasina fled Dhaka in a military aircraft to land at an Air Force base near Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.

She was expected to proceed to London to claim political asylum but British Home Office sources told NDTV its rules do not allow people to travel to that country to seek asylum or temporary refuge.

READ | What Are Ex Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s Plans? India Says…

For now, Ms Hasina is believed to be in the custody of Indian intelligence agencies.

Last month Mr Jaishankar told Parliament Ms Hasina’s office had requested permission to flee Dhaka for Delhi “at very short notice”. At an all-party briefing he said the Indian government was prepared to give Ms Hasina time to decide on her next steps, which could include political retirement.

READ | Want Good Ties With India But On Basis Of “Equality”: Md Yunus

Last week Nobel laureate Md Yunus – who leads an interim government – said his country too wants to maintain its previous good relationship with India, but that these ties should reflect “fairness and equality”. Mr Yunus said he had received a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Modi.

“We want the world to recognise Bangladesh as a respected democracy,” the 84-year-old, who opted for a ‘Chief Advisor’ title rather than ‘Prime Minister’, said in his first address to his nation.

READ | “Stay Silent In India Till…”: Md Yunus’ Message To Sheikh Hasina

For Ms Hasina, the Chief Advisor had stern warning, demanding she must remain silent to prevent compromising the two countries’ relationship till her extradition is sought. “If India wants to keep her till Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” he said.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

The political churn in Bangladesh is that country’s “internal matter” but India is keen to continue what was a stable relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told NDTV Tuesday afternoon, underlining the maxim that neighbouring nations are “dependent on each other”.

In a wide-ranging interview Mr Jaishankar touched on Russia’s war on Ukraine and Delhi’s potential peacemaker role in that conflict, as well as Iran leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s remark, the war in Gaza, and a flurry of foreign visits in the first 100 days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

“What happens is their internal matter. Bangladesh is our neighbour and the relationship, on our part, is something we want to keep stable. We have good trade… our people-to-people ties are good… I want to keep the relationship that way,” Mr Jaishankar said on the Bangladesh crisis.

Bangladesh battled civil unrest and violence last month – the result of a student-led movement against quota in government jobs – that forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign. Ms Hasina fled Dhaka in a military aircraft to land at an Air Force base near Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.

She was expected to proceed to London to claim political asylum but British Home Office sources told NDTV its rules do not allow people to travel to that country to seek asylum or temporary refuge.

READ | What Are Ex Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s Plans? India Says…

For now, Ms Hasina is believed to be in the custody of Indian intelligence agencies.

Last month Mr Jaishankar told Parliament Ms Hasina’s office had requested permission to flee Dhaka for Delhi “at very short notice”. At an all-party briefing he said the Indian government was prepared to give Ms Hasina time to decide on her next steps, which could include political retirement.

READ | Want Good Ties With India But On Basis Of “Equality”: Md Yunus

Last week Nobel laureate Md Yunus – who leads an interim government – said his country too wants to maintain its previous good relationship with India, but that these ties should reflect “fairness and equality”. Mr Yunus said he had received a congratulatory phone call from Prime Minister Modi.

“We want the world to recognise Bangladesh as a respected democracy,” the 84-year-old, who opted for a ‘Chief Advisor’ title rather than ‘Prime Minister’, said in his first address to his nation.

READ | “Stay Silent In India Till…”: Md Yunus’ Message To Sheikh Hasina

For Ms Hasina, the Chief Advisor had stern warning, demanding she must remain silent to prevent compromising the two countries’ relationship till her extradition is sought. “If India wants to keep her till Bangladesh wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet,” he said.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Dhaka:

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus led a solemn tribute to Bangladesh’s fallen independence heroes in the first act of his interim government on Friday, after a student-led uprising forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

A day after returning home from Europe and vowing to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” as he was sworn into office, 84-year-old Yunus began the tough challenge of returning the country to democracy.

Hasina, 76, accused of widespread human rights abuses including the jailing of her political opponents, fled by helicopter to neighbouring India on Monday as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets in a dramatic end to her 15-year rule.

The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work — lead an interim government.

Yunus, who has taken the title of “chief advisor” to a caretaker administration, comprised of fellow civilians bar one retired brigadier-general, has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”.

When polls might take place is not clear.

Officials of Hasina’s former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge attacks saw some of their offices torched, while former opposition groups such as the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are rebuilding after years of crushing repression.

‘Victory day’

The new administration faces a daunting task.

The veteran economist has called for the restoration of order in the South Asian nation after weeks of violence that left at least 455 people dead, calling on citizens to guard each other, including minorities who came under attack.

In driving rain, Yunus stood silently on Friday alongside student and civil society leaders in the new “advisory” cabinet tasked with steering democratic reforms.

Together the group laid a wreath in the red-and-green colours of the national flag at the main memorial commemorating the millions who died in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Yunus suggested on his arrival on Thursday in Dhaka that Hasina’s ouster was as significant as the conflict that brought Bangladesh into being.

“Bangladesh has created a new victory day,” he told reporters. “Bangladesh has got a second independence.”

Several of Yunus’ advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina’s longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, newly released from years of house arrest.

They also include student leaders who started the protests.

Yunus wrote in The Economist this week that his country needed a new generation of leaders “who are not obsessed with settling scores, as too many of our previous governments were”.

However, Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told the Times of India newspaper his mother still had hope of contesting for political office.

“She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election,” he said.

‘Law and order’

Hasina’s flight abroad has heightened rancour towards India, which played a decisive military role in securing Bangladesh’s independence but also backed Hasina to the hilt.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to offer his “best wishes” to Yunus on Thursday moments after he was sworn in, saying New Delhi was “committed” to working with neighbouring Dhaka.

India’s arch-rival Pakistan on Friday also said it hoped it could boost ties with Dhaka, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wishing Yunus “great success in guiding Bangladesh towards a harmonious and prosperous future”.

China said Friday it also welcomed the interim government, promising to work with the country “to promote exchange and cooperation”.

Farida Akhter, an adviser to the interim government, told AFP that the group would also visit a monument in Dhaka where the student protests started last month.

“We are paying our respects there, as the student movement began from there,” she said, before naming the top task on their to-do list.

“Our first priority is law and order”, she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main Opposition party when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was in power, held a rally at Naya Paltan in Dhaka, where thousands of people gathered from different parts of the country. 

Addressing the rally virtually from London, Tarique Rahman, BNP acting chairman and son of former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, called for immediate election in the country. “The national election must be held immediately, and power must be handed over to the elected representatives,” he said.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said election should be held within three months.

An entry gate of the Indian Air Force station at Hindon, where ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina landed on August 05, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India following mass protests against her government, is going to stay in Delhi “for a little while,” her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said on Wednesday (August 7, 2024).

Ms. Hasina, the 76-year-old Awami League leader, landed at an airbase near Delhi on Monday (August 5, 2024) and later shifted to a safe location in Delhi under tight security. She is accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana.

Follow LIVE updates from the crisis in Bangladesh on August 07, 2024

In a video interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Mr. Joy was asked about Ms. Hasina’s reported plans to seek asylum in a third country.

“These are all rumours. She has not made a decision on that yet. She is going to stay in Delhi for a little while. My sister is with her. So she is not alone,” Mr. Joy said.

Ms. Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed is World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region, which has its headquarters in New Delhi.

Ms. Hasina’s plan to travel to London has hit a roadblock following the U.K.’s hesitation to provide her refuge. Ms. Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq is a member of the British Parliament.

Editorial | ​From hope to despair: On Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina

Mr. Joy, who spoke on the current volatile situation in Bangladesh, was also asked if he has any plan to join politics when he laughed it off saying: “There is no such plan right now. This is the third time a coup d’état was staged against our family.”

All his family members, except Ms. Hasina, were already staying abroad for a long time and settled in their respective lives, he said and answered in negative to Sheikh Rehana and or any other family member’s chance of joining politics.