6 min readNew DelhiAug 11, 2026 05:20 AM IST
Five days after ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s remarks in India angered Dhaka, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman raised the issue of her extradition with Indian envoy Dinesh Trivedi Monday and underlined the need to “create a conducive environment to further advance the bilateral relations between the two countries”.
Trivedi’s meeting with Rahman coincided with the visit to Bangladesh by a top-level Indian intelligence and security delegation, led by R&AW chief Parag Jain, The Indian Express has learnt.
The delegation, which reached Sunday, is meeting officials from the DGFI (Directorate General of Forces Intelligence), the premier intelligence agency of Bangladesh.
Trivedi’s meeting with Rahman was his first after assuming charge as the Indian High Commissioner. The Bangladesh PMO, in a statement, said, “Bangladesh expressed the hope that India would expedite the process of extraditing Sheikh Hasina.”
Hasina is facing a death sentence in Bangladesh and her party, the Awami League, has been banned. Forced to flee the country on August 5, 2024 in the wake of violent protests, she has been living in India for the last two years.
Five days ago, addressing the media at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in New Delhi via an audio link, Hasina said she plans to return to her country, possibly this December.
The Bangladesh PMO said, “At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister welcomed the Indian High Commissioner. The High Commissioner shared his experiences regarding his tenure in Dhaka over the past two months with the Prime Minister.”
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Shadow amid bid to reset ties
Hasina’s presence in India has cast a shadow on ties between Delhi and Dhaka. Her recent statements and plans to return have sparked outrage in Bangladesh. The first meeting between Indian envoy Trivedi and Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman is aimed at bringing ties back on track. Rahman’s visit to India is at stake.
“Discussions were held on significant bilateral issues between Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh expressed the hope that India would expedite the process of extraditing Sheikh Hasina,” it said.
Earlier, reacting sharply to Hasina’s event on August 5, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry had said: “Bangladesh is outraged that the absconding convicted genocider Sheikh Hasina was allowed this evening to engage in live interaction with the media in New Delhi where she and her henchmen launched venomous vitriol against the State of Bangladesh and her people.”
“Dhaka deeply regrets that in spite of concerns conveyed a priori to the Government of India about the likely ramifications of this event on the reset of our bilateral relations, this public event was permitted to be held,” it said.
India had distanced itself from the event and her remarks, saying it had “no role” in organising Hasina’s interaction and “did not endorse” the statements.
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On Monday, after the Rahman-Trivedi meeting, the Bangladesh PMO said: “At the same time, a request was reiterated to India regarding the return to Bangladesh of the killers involved in the murder of Shaheed Osman Hadi”.
This was a reference to the arrest of two Bangladeshi nationals, accused in the murder of political activist Sharif Osman Bin Hadi. They were arrested in West Bengal’s Bongaon area on March 8 this year.
Hadi died at a hospital in Singapore on December 18, 2025, six days after he was shot in the head in Dhaka on December 12. He had emerged as a prominent youth leader during the 2024 student-led uprising which led to Hasina’s ouster.
According to the Bangladesh PMO, “Prime Minister (Rahman) emphasized the need to create a conducive environment to further advance the bilateral relations between the two countries.”
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Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, the Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Humayun Kabir, and other officials were present during the meeting.
Describing the meeting as fruitful, Trivedi said Bangladesh and India not only share a border but also share dreams.
“We are looking forward. Our invitation is there in place. We are positive that if the two leaders meet together, there will be discussion. There will be issues in democracies. It’s not democracy if there is no issue. But there is only one people’s issue, which is good relations. It’s a win-win situation if there is a good relationship,” he said, referring to India’s invitation to Rahman to attend the BRICS leaders’ outreach summit in September.
On the meeting dynamics, Trivedi said, “I am not a diplomat. It’s like people’s representative-to-people’s representative. I am very delighted that we have met. I didn’t feel that I met him for the first time. Very good, very humble, on the ground, what will be the discussion – people-to-people relations.”
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He said there is no issue that cannot be solved. “I can tell you this confidently.”
Trivedi also met Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed. On Sunday, Trivedi had described Rahman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as people’s persons and expressed optimism that solutions to issues between the two countries could be found if the two leaders meet.
“We all respect him (Rahman) a lot. He speaks from his heart. I listened to his speeches many times…. He is a people’s person, our Prime Minister (Modi) too. I think when two leaders meet, a lot of problems are sorted out. I have full confidence,” he told reporters.