Bangladesh Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir on Sunday said that his country would hand over Indian extremists and criminals as agreed under the recently signed extradition treaty between the two neighbours.
The instruments of ratification for the extradition treaty were exchanged between the two governments last month.
Alamgir denied the presence of any Indian militant camp in his country, and assured that if New Delhi gives specific inputs to Dhaka, then action would be taken to apprehend and hand them over.
He was addressing a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde here.
Alamgir said the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League Government in Bangladesh has vowed not to allow Indian militants or criminals to take shelter in the country, and added that both countries have inked an extradition treaty to ensure against this.
"As of now, to our knowledge, our prime minister has assured the people of India that Bangladesh soil will never be allowed to be used by any insurgents, any rebel, and we stand by that. I am requesting my counterpart in India to give us particulars if they have any location of insurgents in Bangladesh. I can assure all of you that we will try our best to apprehend and hand them over to the India authorities as soon as possible," said Alamgir.
More From This Section
He was responding to a question on whether militants from northeast India were taking or being given shelter in Bangladesh.
"We (Bangladesh and India) have signed the extradition treaty. It has been a very happy and productive occasion for us to sign this treaty. We have declared jointly by signing this treaty that we will not provide any shelter to criminals. Criminals of Bangladesh who have gone to India to find shelter, will no longer find India to be a safe haven. Similarly, some criminals after committing some crime have taken shelter in Bangladesh, and we are committed to extradite them," said Alamgir.
"We are committed to making sure that our efforts will be to protect all peace loving people. Our efforts will be to avoid all sorts of crime, and that is why the extradition treaty that we have signed, should be treated as a joint effort by both countries to transform this continent into a crime-less union."
Both home ministers were here for the inauguration of the multi-use integrated check post (ICP), which would further boost trade and economy between India's north eastern states and Bangladesh, and provide various facilities to trans-border passengers and traders.
Commenting on the extradition of Anup Chetia, the founder general secretary of the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Alamgir said he was currently in jail and would be handed over to India after completion of all court formalities.
"About Anup Chetia, yes, we are a law-abiding nation and believe in the rule of law. Anup Chetia had committed an offence by entering Bangladesh without any authorization. He was trialed and committed to prison. His prison term is over, and now, we are ready to hand him over to the Indian authorities. Before we could do so, he had appealed to the Supreme Court of Bangladesh expressing his desire not to return to India and to stay in Bangladesh. We believe in the rule of law and we have wait till a final decision is given by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh."
Chetia was arrested in Dhaka in 1997 and jailed on charges of illegally entering Bangladesh using a forged passport, possessing illegal foreign currency and illegal arms.
His jail term ended in 2003, but he has sought political asylum in Bangladesh on three occasions viz in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
