India does not endorse remarks made at Sheikh Hasina’s Delhi event, says MEA amid diplomatic row

The Indian government does not endorse remarks made at a press conference held by former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Delhi, particularly those relating to Dhaka, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

The ministry also said that New Delhi had no role to play in the event, reiterating that it was organised by a private media entity.

Hasina’s comments

During an audio-only virtual press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club on Wednesday, Hasina said that she was determined to return to Bangladesh in December to put the country on the “right track” despite the risk of imprisonment or even a death sentence.

The event marked Hasina’s first live public media appearance since she fled to Delhi in August 2024 amid widespread protests against her government.

She also demanded that the ban on her party, the Awami League, be lifted and political prisoners be released. The former prime minister urged the international community to support the people of Bangladesh in their struggle for democracy and justice.

Hasina described India as a “great friend” of Bangladesh. She said that India always stood by her country in times of difficulty.

The Awami League leader also dismissed reports of back-channel talks with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government about her return. “I may be detained, I may be sent to prison,”...

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