NEW DELHI: Bangladesh’s National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman met Indian NSA Ajit Doval in New Delhi on Tuesday and formally invited him to visit Dhaka, even as relations between the neighbours remain strained over a host of issues since Former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina’s exit from power.
The meeting was held ahead of the 7th National Security Advisors’ Meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) on Thursday.
The invitation to Doval comes at a moment of diplomatic sensitivity, with Dhaka pushing harder for Hasina’s return.Bilateral ties have come under increasing pressure since Hasina fled to India following her removal from power during violent student-led protests last year. Bangladesh first requested her extradition in December 2024, just two weeks after India’s foreign secretary travelled to Dhaka.
The standoff escalated sharply this week after Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Hasina and former Interior Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for their alleged role in the July crackdown on student protesters.
The tribunal ruled that the two were responsible for actions amounting to “crimes against humanity.” Following the verdict, Dhaka again sent a fresh diplomatic note to New Delhi seeking the extradition of both leaders. It warned that any country providing refuge to Hasina would be committing “an extremely unfriendly act and a disregard for justice.”