India Extends Sheikh Hasina’s Visa Amid Calls For Her Extradition From Dhaka

India has extended former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visa amid growing calls for her extradition from Dhaka.

The development comes a day after Bangladesh’s interim government said it had revoked the passport of the ousted PM and 96 others over their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and the July killings. Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League’s (AL) 16-year regime.

Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for “crimes against humanity and genocide”. ICT has set the deadline for February 12.

Last month, the Yusuf government sent a diplomatic note urging India to send the deposed PM.

Addressing a press briefing, Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said, “The Passports Department cancelled passports of 22 people involved in enforced disappearances, while passports of 75 people, including Sheikh Hasina, were revoked due to their involvement in the July killings.” He, however, did not reveal the names of the remaining individuals whose passports were cancelled, the state-run BSS news agency reported.