State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obayed said India must decide the direction of Bangladesh-India relations. She made the remarks while speaking to journalists on Thursday evening in response to comments made by Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister and death-sentenced accused Sheikh Hasina at a news conference in Delhi on August 5.

Obayed said she believed that the people and governments of both countries want Bangladesh-India relations to improve. However, she said concern would arise among Bangladeshis if people and leaders of the Awami League whom she described as authoritarian, fascist and convicted continue what she called conspiratorial activities from Indian soil, and if the Indian government does not stop them.

She said relations between the two countries are multidimensional and that various issues should be resolved through discussion. According to Obayed, India now has to decide whether it will allow what she described as authoritarian, fascist and convicted individuals to make statements.