DHAKA, Aug. 5, 2026 — Bangladesh has strongly protested the media appearance of former prime minister
Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi, saying the event undermined the spirit of the July Revolution and negatively affected efforts to improve bilateral relations with India.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dhaka was "outraged" that Hasina, whom the government described as an absconding convicted criminal, was allowed to engage in a live media interaction in the Indian capital.
The ministry said it had conveyed its concerns to the Government of India in advance regarding the possible implications of the event for the ongoing efforts to reset Bangladesh-India relations. It expressed regret that the programme was nevertheless allowed to proceed.
According to the statement, the media interaction took place on the second anniversary of the July Revolution and was viewed by Bangladesh as "an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh" and "a grievous insult" to those who lost their lives during the movement.
The statement further alleged that remarks made during the event sought to deny findings related to the July-August 2024 violence and reiterated the government's position that the people of Bangladesh had rejected any attempt to reverse the political changes brought about by the July Revolution.
Reaffirming the government's foreign policy position, the ministry said Bangladesh remains committed to building a "constructive, mutually beneficial and forward-looking" relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and national dignity.
The statement also noted that Bangladesh has repeatedly requested India to return Sheikh Hasina under the extradition treaty signed between the two countries in 2013. It said no response has yet been received from New Delhi and argued that permitting her public media engagement was "deeply hurtful" to public sentiment in Bangladesh and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations.
India has previously maintained that bilateral issues with Bangladesh should be addressed through established diplomatic channels. New Delhi had not immediately responded to Bangladesh's latest statement.
