File photo

DHAKA, Aug 5, 2026 (BSS) - Bangladesh tonight expressed outrage over fugitive disposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's live media interaction in New Delhi, saying the event was an affront to the country's sovereignty and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations with India.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Bangladesh was "outraged" that the "absconding convicted genocider" Sheikh Hasina had been allowed to engage in a live interaction with the media in New Delhi, where she and her associates "launched venomous vitriol against the State of Bangladesh and her people."

Dhaka said it "deeply regrets" that despite conveying its concerns in advance to the Government of India regarding the possible repercussions of the event on efforts to reset bilateral relations, the programme was allowed to take place.

The foreign ministry said the interaction, held on the second anniversary of the July Revolution, was "an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh and a grievous insult to the martyrs of the July Revolution."

It said the denial of facts established by the United Nations, including the killing of civilians, among them children, during the July-August 2024 events, represented "a futile attempt" to rewrite history.

"The people of Bangladesh had already rejected such heinous attempts in the past and continue to do so now," the statement said.

Reaffirming the spirit of the July Revolution, the ministry said the people of Bangladesh had resolved that the country would "never again go back to the dark days of fascism" and would "never be a client state."

It added that Sheikh Hasina and her associates "will never have a place in the polity of Bangladesh."

The statement reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to maintaining "a constructive, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking relationship with India" based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and national dignity.

However, the ministry expressed regret that Bangladesh's repeated requests for the return of Sheikh Hasina under the Bangladesh-India Extradition Treaty signed in 2013 had not yet received a response.

"On the contrary, allowing her the opportunity to openly interact with the media under any pretext is deeply hurtful to our people's sentiment and detrimental to the development of harmonious bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India," the statement added.