Indian envoy says New Delhi had little choice over Hasina landing

India had “hardly any choice” but to allow Sheikh Hasina’s aircraft to land in August 2024, Indian envoy to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday. Speaking at the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 in Dhaka, Trivedi described the decision as part of India’s duty as a neighbouring country. He said Hasina had not been brought to India by the Indian Air Force or Army, and that her military aircraft arrived while India was unprepared for the situation.

Trivedi questioned what would have happened if India had refused permission for the aircraft to land. He also said Hasina was still Bangladesh’s prime minister at the time, while television reports had suggested that she might be travelling to another country. On Bangladesh’s request for her extradition, Trivedi said a legal process was under way and that the courts were involved.

He did not identify the proceedings or provide a timetable, saying no one could give a time frame for the process. Hasina, 79, has lived in India since leaving Dhaka after her government fell in August 2024. India has said Bangladesh’s extradition request is being examined under established procedures.

The issue has remained a source of tension between the two countries. Bangladesh’s interim administration sought Hasina’s return after she was sentenced to death in absentia in November 2025 over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising. She has denied the charges and called them politically motivated.

Bangladesh’s government has renewed the extradition demand. The dispute has also complicated discussions over a proposed visit to New Delhi by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, although Bangladeshi officials have said they remain positive about progress. No date has been fixed for the visit.