India unlikely to extradite Hasina

New Delhi doesn't want to send 'wrong message' to the world that it doesn't stand by friends

- SATARUPA BHATTACHARJYA

India is unlikely to accept Dhaka's request to extradite Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, who was ousted in a student-led movement and fled her country in August last year. She has since been living in self-exile in New Delhi.

An Indian government official, with knowledge of the matter, told Business Standard that if India were to agree, a wrong message would go to the world, especially to other countries in the region — "friends and foes alike".

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: "What signal would we be sending — that we don't stand by our friends?"

Other than India's historical relationship with Bangladesh and China's reach in South Asia, Pakistan's influence, more apparent since Hasina's fall, has become a concern for New Delhi.

"Any perceived act of weakness would be detrimental to India's position," the official said.

In December, the transitional government in Dhaka made a formal request to India for Hasina's extradition. India has not responded yet.