New Delhi: Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday praised India for always being “a good friend” and stressed her proposed return home was a personal decision and did not involve conferring with the Indian government.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s son and former Advisor, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, joining the press meet online from the US, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his government having “shown her the utmost respect and for that I’m eternally grateful”.
“India has always been a great friend. And I know it will remain that. I want to go back to my country, to my people. It is not a government matter,” Hasina said, answering a query at a packed media conference held in Delhi.
The former Bangladesh Prime Minister reiterated her intent at returning to her country sometime in December, but remained short of specifying a date or time, while stressing that it is a personal decision and did not involve conferring with the Indian government.
Hasina is currently living in exile in India after a volatile student-led demonstration in 2024 and a subsequent death sentence awarded in absentia for alleged crimes against humanity.
“They’ve destroyed all symbols of victory, of the Liberation War. We’ve to bring it back. I want to bring back that pride,” she said, speaking from a remote location, without her being seen on the screen set up at the venue.
It was in December 1971 that the Bangladesh Liberation War ended after nine months of armed uprising against the government in West Pakistan, that led to its Independence. (IANS)
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