Dinesh Trivedi, India's High Commissioner in Dhaka, struck a definitive tone on Saturday, refusing to provide any deadline for the return of Sheikh Hasina. Speaking at the fifth edition of the Bay of Bengal Conversation, Trivedi told the audience, "Nobody can give you a time frame." He emphasized that the request is currently being examined through a "well-structured" legal process, a stance that has long frustrated Dhaka.
The 79-year-old former prime minister has been in India since August 5, 2024, when a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft ferried her to safety during the July Uprising. Trivedi clarified that her arrival was not an act of Indian military intervention but a neighborly obligation. "At that point in time, she was still the prime minister of Bangladesh," Trivedi noted, arguing that denying her landing permission would have been impossible.
The diplomatic friction has deepened since the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus tried Hasina in absentia and sentenced her to death in 2025. The current government, led by PM Tarique Rahman, has renewed the extradition demand repeatedly. However, these legal demands clash with India's procedural caution, creating a bottleneck that has halted high-level engagement between the two nations.
This stalemate directly impacts bilateral relations, most visibly in the stalled plans for Rahman's visit to New Delhi. India had extended invitations for both the BRICS Summit and a separate bilateral meeting, but Rahman has yet to travel. Dhaka claims progress is being made on the visit, yet no date has been fixed.
Tensions escalated further on August 5 when Hasina held an audio-only press conference from New Delhi. She declared her intention to return in December, stating she was undeterred by the threat of imprisonment or execution. The Bangladesh foreign ministry subsequently labeled this move as having "vitiated" the process for Rahman's proposed visit, ensuring the diplomatic chill persists well into the next phase of negotiations.