Senior journalist and activist Rajib Ahmed analyzed Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry response after Sheikh Hasina held a press conference in India on August 5. In a Facebook post published on August 6, Ahmed highlighted the ministry’s unusually strong language toward India and Bangladesh’s anger over Hasina being allowed to engage openly with the media.

According to Ahmed’s account of the statement, its opening described Hasina as a fugitive, convicted and genocidal figure, while referring to July as a revolution. The ministry said the event on Indian soil was an extreme affront to Bangladesh’s sovereignty and a serious disrespect to the martyrs of the July Revolution. It also said Hasina’s remarks against the Bangladeshi state and people could adversely affect efforts to rebuild bilateral relations.

The statement said Bangladesh would never become a client state and that Hasina and her mafia circle would have no place in its politics. It nevertheless expressed a desire for constructive, mutually beneficial and future-oriented ties with India based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference and national dignity. It also said India had not responded to repeated requests for Hasina’s return under the 2013 extradition treaty.