Last Updated on November 13, 2026 7:02 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
A meeting between the US ambassador and India’s high commissioner in Bangladesh, the postponement of bilateral consular talks and renewed demands for Sheikh Hasina’s extradition have brought Dhaka-Delhi relations back into focus amid political tensions.
US ambassador Brent T Christensen met Indian high commissioner Dinesh Trivedi at the Indian mission in Dhaka on Thursday morning. The US embassy confirmed the meeting but did not disclose its agenda. “I can only tell you that the meeting took place in the morning,” an embassy source told this correspondent.
Christensen assumed office in January and Trivedi arrived in June. Their meeting came as Bangladesh presses India to return Hasina, who has lived there since fleeing a student-led uprising on August 5, 2024. The former prime minister has said she intends to return in December.
On Friday, ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi rejected suggestions that Hasina could simply come home with new travel documents.
Speaking at a Jatiyatabadi Mohila Dal (women wing of BNP) event at Dhaka’s National Press Club, Rizvi said bringing her back must be handled under the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty and ongoing court proceedings. “Only extradition is an option for her,” he said, arguing she should not be “welcomed with flowers”.
Rizvi pointed to cases arising from the deadly 2024 crackdown and Hasina’s 2025 death sentence for crimes against humanity. He accused her of responsibility for around 1,400 deaths. Hasina has denied wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the fifth Bangladesh-India consular dialogue, scheduled in Dhaka for November 17-18, has been postponed after New Delhi cited scheduling constraints. Both sides agreed to defer the talks, and Bangladeshi officials say a meeting this year is unlikely. No replacement date was announced.
Dhaka had prepared for discussions through a November 3 inter-ministerial meeting. Proposed issues included alleged border push-ins, visas, stranded nationals, prisoners and suspects, assistance for travellers and migrants, extradition and legal cooperation. Bangladesh also intended to raise Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
The talks, launched in 2017 and held four times previously, form an important channel for managing cross-border consular issues. Bangladesh’s mission in New Delhi has said the postponement preceded Hasina’s passport request, cautioning against linking the two developments.