Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in the wake of the student uprising on the 5th of last month. She was then stationed at an air force base near Ghaziabad, India. However, as there was no message from the Indian authorities about her current status in any part of India, there was confusion about knowing her exact location. But this time the smoke has ended.
British press Financial Times reported that Hasina is staying with her daughter in the capital Delhi. She was even spotted with her entourage in one of Delhi's elite parks, Lodi Gardens.
The media also reported that Sheikh Hasina with her daughter Saima Wazed is in a safe house of the Indian government. Saima Wazed took up a regional post at the Delhi-based World Health Organization in February.
When the Awami League was in power in Bangladesh, Hasina's top foreign supporter was the Modi government. Although they have admitted Hasina's escape, they have kept silent about the former prime minister's position or other issues. Most of the local and foreign media in Delhi have stopped even claiming that they will get Sheikh Hasina's first post-ouster interview.
Dr. Asif Nazrul, Adviser on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the Interim Government spoke to the media about Sheikh Hasina's extradition. He said, “According to the extradition treaty with India, we can demand her extradition. For now, we hope the Government of India will restrain her from destabilizing the country."
India has a history of harboring fugitive regional leaders. The Dalai Lama fled and settled in India after the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. However, he handed over political affairs to a civilian administration-in-exile (based in India). Besides, this Tibetan spiritual leader recently met with a delegation of the US Congress. This move angered Beijing. According to analysts, none of this would have happened without the consent of the Modi government.
Besides, the family of the former president of Afghanistan Mohammad Najibullah also fled to India in 1992. His wife Fatana Najeeb and children are said to still spend most of their time in India.
Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana stayed in India for several years after 1975 after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed in a coup in Dhaka.