Asked if there were any legal hurdles in bringing back Hasina, Shama Obaid said, “Whether there are legal complications is for the law and the home ministry to decide. On behalf of the foreign ministry, we are carrying out the necessary diplomatic process, and I don’t see any hindrance in it.”
Responding to another question, he said that diplomatic communication with the Government of India, initiated during the interim administration, is continuing through appropriate channels. He said if Hasina is returned under the prisoner exchange agreement or any applicable legal framework, it will be done as per the protocols and norms established before she faces trial in Bangladesh.
“The people of Bangladesh want Sheikh Hasina to be brought back and prosecuted,” he said, adding that cases of alleged injustice, corruption, killings and enforced disappearances that took place during her tenure should be tried in a fair and transparent manner on Bangladeshi soil.