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The interim government has not received any official information regarding the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s immigration status in India, according to Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain.
When asked at his office on Tuesday if Dhaka had any official details about the Awami League chief’s status, Touhid said, “No, we don’t have any official information. We only know what their (Indian) foreign minister said ‘She arrived and was given shelter very quickly’.”
Hasina fled to India on Aug 5 after stepping down as prime minister in the face of massive public protests and political upheaval.
She reportedly travelled from Ganabhaban by helicopter to the airport, and then to Hindon Air Force base in Ghaziabad near New Delhi via an Air Force transport plane, accompanied by her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana.
On Aug 5, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that Hasina had been granted temporary refuge in New Delhi following an all-party meeting convened by the Indian central government to discuss the situation.
Jaishankar also said the Indian government was allowing Hasina some time to decide on her future course of action. He informed parliament on Aug 6 that the former prime minister had requested permission to enter India at short notice, arriving later that afternoon.
Subsequently, on Aug 22, the interim government in Bangladesh cancelled the diplomatic passports of Hasina, her ministers, and members of the dissolved 12th parliament.
Regarding Hasina’s current status in India, in light of the 45-day stay permitted under a diplomatic passport, Touhid said: “Not everything operates solely under the law. Many people stay in the US for years. Did their paperwork expire within 45 days? No, it did not.”
He added, “Now that the Indian government has provided her refuge, we need to view it from this perspective, without focusing on specific timelines.”
When asked if the Bangladeshi government had requested any official information, the foreign advisor said: “I have not communicated anything officially to them yet.”