Bangladesh-India Tensions Over Hasina: How Can the Deadlock Be Broken?

Photo: Collected

News Desk: Just as Bangladesh and India were preparing to build a renewed relationship around the potential visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarek Rahman to New Delhi, political statements by ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have created fresh tensions in the process.

Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India, criticized the fall of her government and the mass uprising during a virtual press conference held in New Delhi on August 5. Her decision to make such remarks from Indian soil triggered a strong reaction from Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said India should not allow Sheikh Hasina to use its territory to make political statements or provoke interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. As a result, ongoing efforts to restore friendly relations between the two countries have slowed.

According to international political analysts, the key to resolving the current diplomatic impasse lies in preventing Sheikh Hasina from conducting political activities from Indian territory. While returning or extraditing Sheikh Hasina would involve a lengthy and complex legal process, restricting her political statements is largely within India’s control.

If New Delhi sends a positive signal on the issue, an atmosphere of trust could gradually be restored between the two countries. Bangladesh has also indicated that Prime Minister Tarek Rahman’s visit to New Delhi could take place only when an appropriate environment is created.

Despite the diplomatic tensions, Bangladesh and India remain deeply interconnected economically and geographically. The two countries share a border of more than 4,000 kilometres and conduct more than $12 billion in trade annually.

Although Bangladesh has recently expanded diplomatic engagement with China, the United States and Turkey, maintaining stable bilateral relations remains crucial for both Bangladesh and India to ensure long-term stability in South Asia.

Therefore, despite the current political differences, experts believe that a meeting between the top leadership of the two countries will ultimately be necessary in the interest of their respective national interests.