Hasina must go to jail if she returns: Shama Obaid
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms. Shama Obaid Islam has said that the Prime Minister of the fascist government has already been convicted and sentenced. She said that many people from that government’s party have also fled abroad and are similarly convicted, taking refuge in India. She said that under the extradition treaty with India, they are maintaining communication with the Indian government on this matter, and that the Indian government has said this is a legal issue currently being examined by their judiciary. She said the difference here is that this is a convicted accused person, and what is said and where is not a matter of concern for the Bangladesh government. She said the Bangladesh government remains in contact with the Indian government, and that as soon as the former Prime Minister is handed over through extradition, she will be arrested under Bangladeshi law and will have to go to jail. She noted that Bangladesh’s Law Minister and Home Minister have already made this clear.
She made these remarks as chief guest at a special meeting of the law and order committee and an exchange-of-views meeting held yesterday at the Deputy Commissioner’s conference room, aimed at accelerating development activities in Madaripur district.
Also speaking at the event were Mr. Saeed Uddin Ahmad Hanjala, MP for Madaripur-1; Mr. Jandar Ali Mia, MP for Madaripur-2; Mr. Anisur Rahman Khokon Talukder, MP; and Ms. Helen Zerin Khan, MP from a reserved seat. The meeting was chaired by Madaripur Deputy Commissioner Ms. Marzina Akter. The Superintendent of Police and officials from various government departments were also present.
Regarding the Mecca agreement, Ms. Shama Obaid said no final decision has yet been made on whether Bangladesh will join this alliance. She said that before joining any international alliance in the future, Bangladesh would make its decision while maintaining the country’s existing policy. She said the Prime Minister firmly believes in “Bangladesh First,” and that before joining any group, they would consider whether it serves the interests of the people of Bangladesh, and would join an alliance only after weighing whether it would bring genuine benefit.
On the issue of human trafficking, the State Minister said they have worked on trafficking prevention across 14 districts of Bangladesh, with Madaripur already included among them. She said human trafficking from Madaripur is linked to an international network of traffickers operating both inside and outside the country. She urged law enforcement personnel to identify these traffickers and report their names and identities to their senior authorities, so that efforts could be made to apprehend them, including internationally. She said that if any Bangladeshi living abroad is found to be involved in trafficking people from the country, any information on this should be shared with them, and the government would work diligently to resolve it.
She said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare have jointly formed a committee to work on resolving this problem. She said they have held multiple discussions with the governments of Italy and Libya on ways to curb the trend of migrants traveling to Italy via Libya.
