"India will not extradite Hasina, Yunus playing cheap politics": Former J-K DGP Vaid

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 18 (ANI): Former Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid on Tuesday said that India's stance on ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is very clear, and it is not going to extradite Hasina to Dhaka, adding that Muhammad Yunus, who heads the Bangladesh interim government, is playing "cheap politics". 

Speaking to ANI, Vaid said, "Muhammad Yunus is playing cheap politics. He wanted to corner India. Tomorrow, when the new government comes, and Muhammad Yunus flees from Bangladesh, how will he feel if an absentia trial is conducted against him for all those killings which radicals have committed against the minority community? How will he feel if he is not given a chance to defend himself, and is awarded murder and hanging as a punishment?"

Vaid said that the neighbouring country should give Hasina a fair chance to defend herself. 

"India is not going to extradite (Sheikh Hasina). India's policy is very clear. Give her a fair chance to defend herself, and then we will take care of it," he added. 

Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday appealed to India to immediately extradite Hasina and the country's former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

Bangladesh claimed India was obliged to do so under an extradition treaty.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that India has taken note of the verdict announced by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh concerning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said that India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.

MEA underlined that India will always engage constructively with all stakeholders.

A Bangladesh court on Monday found ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina guilty of committing "crimes against humanity" during the July-August uprising in 2024. Local media reported that the International Crimes Tribunal-1 has sentenced Hasina to death. (ANI)