BD expects positive decision from India

FE REPORT | Published: July 09, 2026 23:31:36

Bangladesh hopes that the outcome of bilateral discussions with India over the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty will be positive.
"We are in talks with India over the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty. They know that water is a very important issue for us. And we hope that India will take its decision so that the bilateral ties will not be affected," state minister for foreign affairs, Shama Obaid, told reporters on Thursday.
And I believe that the outcome of the discussions will be positive, she added.
Responding to a question, the state minister said the government was continuing diplomatic efforts with India to bring back former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, stressing that her recent statements from abroad were "completely irrelevant" to Bangladesh.
Responding to questions from reporters about Sheikh Hasina's reported claim that she would return to Bangladesh this year, the state minister said the former prime minister had been convicted by a Bangladeshi court and was now a fugitive after committing "injustices, oppression and wrongdoing" before fleeing the country.
"Whatever Sheikh Hasina is saying from abroad is not relevant here at all," she said.
Shama Obaed said diplomatic communication between Bangladesh and India, initiated during the interim government, remains ongoing.
"When a convicted individual is brought back under an extradition arrangement or other applicable legal framework, there are established protocols and norms that must be followed. She will be brought back in accordance with those norms to face justice in Bangladesh. I believe that is what the people of Bangladesh want," she said.
She added that allegations involving corruption, killings and enforced disappearances should be subject to a fair and transparent trial on Bangladeshi soil.
"The process with the Government of India is continuing, as we have stated before. Therefore, the comments of an accused person are not relevant here," she said.
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