7 months ago
1
NEW DELHI
Bangladesh should clasp the adjacent wide predetermination “without delay” and that India is successful favour of “free, fair, inclusive and participatory” predetermination successful the country, said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri connected Monday (October 6, 2025).
Speaking to a radical of visiting journalists from Bangladesh, Mr. Misri described the February 2026 election successful Bangladesh arsenic a “globally” important lawsuit and said India volition prosecute with “any government” that is chosen by the radical of Bangladesh. He added that the predetermination volition person to get some “domestic” and “external” legitimacy.
“I privation to beryllium precise very wide successful this 1 substance – if determination is immoderate uncertainty successful anybody’s caput – that India is firmly successful favour of free, fair, inclusive and participatory elections successful Bangladesh and it is successful favour of these elections being held astatine the earliest possible,” said Mr. Misri.
Also Read | Yunus announces predetermination successful April 2026, says ‘Bangladesh is successful a authorities of war’
The predetermination successful Bangladesh was announced earlier this year, and Chief Adviser of the interim authorities of Muhammad Yunus reiterated connected aggregate occasions that the predetermination would beryllium held successful February.
However, determination person been questions astir however inclusive would the predetermination beryllium arsenic the Awami League, the enactment that governed Bangladesh betwixt 2009 and 2024 remains banned, with its person and erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina staying successful India. Bangladesh has been demanding the extradition of Ms. Hasina to look proceedings successful the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for the sidesplitting of protesters successful July-August 2024 erstwhile Ms. Hasina faced a student-led uprising that overthrew her government.
Apart from the ban connected the Awami League, determination are besides demands from the starring pupil advisers successful Dhaka to prohibition definite other political outfits, including the Jatiyo Party of the precocious President Hossein Mohammed Ershad.
Responding to a question, Mr. Misri said the predetermination successful Bangladesh volition person to person “internal legitimacy”, and cautioned that the polls volition besides person to get “external legitimacy”.
“Issues of free, fair, inclusive, and participatory elections are features that lend legitimacy to this process. At the extremity of the day, it is for the radical of Bangladesh to determine however these elections volition beryllium structured and however they volition play retired due to the fact that these are not decisions that volition stay present and now,” said Mr. Misri.
He referred to the beingness of Ms. Hasina successful India arsenic a “judicial and ineligible process” that requires “engagement and consultations” betwixt Dhaka and New Delhi. “We are examining this contented and we look guardant to moving unneurotic with the Bangladesh authorities connected this issue.”
The ICT indicted Ms. Hasina for the July-August 2024 killings connected June 1, 2025. During the enactment with the visiting media delegation Dhaka, a question was asked to Mr. Misri astir Bangladesh interim government’s caller outreach to Pakistan, but Mr. Misri refused to delve into the issue, saying, helium would not similar to get into “Bangladesh’s narration with a 3rd country.”
Mr. Misri visited Dhaka connected December 9, 2024 erstwhile helium became the archetypal Indian authoritative to sojourn Bangladesh aft the interim authorities took complaint pursuing the autumn of the Hasina authorities connected August 5, 2024.
