Bangladesh on Wednesday summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pavan Badhe, to protest former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s access to mainstream Indian media from New Delhi and to request that her interviews be stopped, saying the broadcasts are damaging to bilateral relations.
According to diplomatic sources, the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for the South Asia wing conveyed Dhaka’s “deep concern” that allowing Hasina to speak to major Indian outlets was “not conducive to constructive, forward-looking ties” between the neighbours. The ministry asked the envoy to relay Bangladesh’s request to New Delhi to immediately halt the media appearances.
In its communication, the ministry alleged that sheltering a fugitive facing trial in Bangladesh and providing a platform for what it described as anti-Bangladesh hate speech and incitement to violence undermines efforts to build trust. The summons took place in the first half of the day at the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka.
Indian officials had not issued a public response at the time of reporting.