Bangladesh’s alleged Pakistan drift: Options before India’s foreign policy

By Nava Thakuria* 

The recent media briefing by ousted Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi revealed little about her plans to return home. Her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, however, delivered some striking remarks about the state of Bangladesh under the Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government in Dhaka.  

Speaking virtually from the United States, Joy claimed that his homeland is slowly turning into another Pakistan, where radical Islamist elements operate freely with the support of anti-Indian forces. He described Bangladesh as a failed state and warned that the South Asian nation could become a breeding ground for regional terrorism. 

Joy further revealed that hundreds of convicted terrorists, arrested and imprisoned under the Hasina-led Awami League government, have recently been released. He asserted that various foreign intelligence agencies, including Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), are active in Bangladesh and that the next generation of global terrorists could emerge from the Muslim-majority country of 180 million people unless the threat is addressed pragmatically.

Joy acknowledged India’s continued support for his mother since Hasina left Dhaka on 5 August 2024 following a student-led mass uprising against her government. In her own audio message, the Awami League leader reiterated her determination to return home. The daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared that she would go back irrespective of any hardship. Hasina, now 78 and living in self-imposed exile in New Delhi, had expressed a desire to return in December—the month that marks Bangladesh’s victory over Pakistani forces on 16 December 1971.  

Her return, however, will not be easy. She has already been sentenced to death in absentia by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity during the July–August uprising. Her party has been barred from political activities and from contesting elections. Hasina’s arch-rival, Khaleda Zia’s BNP, won the general election on 12 February 2026, and her son Tarique Rahman became the new prime minister.

From the outset, the Rahman government has sought Hasina’s repatriation to face trial in Bangladesh under the 2013 extradition treaty between the two neighbours. New Delhi has remained non-committal, stating that the matter is under legal scrutiny. It is understood that India will not press Hasina to leave unless it receives firm assurances from Dhaka that she will receive due process. 

When Bangladesh reacted sharply to the 5 August briefing—during which Hasina addressed the media, including global news agencies, from Indian soil—New Delhi clarified that the event was organised by an independent press club with no official involvement. A foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that India does not endorse any views expressed at the briefing and that Hasina and her party are restricted from engaging in political activities in India that target a sovereign nation.

Bangladesh is almost entirely surrounded by eastern Indian states, sharing long borders with West Bengal (2,217 km), Assam (262 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Tripura (856 km) and Mizoram (318 km), apart from a short stretch with Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. Any serious deterioration there can quickly affect India’s border regions. The rise of radical forces on Bangladeshi soil poses particular security concerns for India’s Northeast, home to more than 60 million people.  

The once-banned Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has now consolidated its position and holds the second-highest number of seats in the Jatiya Sangsad after the ruling BNP. The anti-India rhetoric of various Bangladeshi outfits, including Jamaat-e-Islami, needs careful diplomatic handling and will require New Delhi to maintain workable relations with Dhaka. Recent developments have complicated bilateral ties, if not deteriorated them significantly. The continued influx of Bangladeshi Muslim migrants into Indian localities—Assam and Tripura being the primary entry points—remains a long-standing concern with no clear remedy in sight.  

It is now a matter of time before the two countries, which shared a common identity until 1947, rediscover the mutual understanding that once defined their relationship—and sustain it.