The Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Md Touhid Hossꦕain, said that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's stay in India will not affect Dhaka's bilateral ties withꦫ New Delhi.
The 7🔯6-year-old Hasina resigned as the Bangladesh Prime Minister and fled the country last week, taking shelter in India for the time being.
The Foreign Affairs Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Md Touhid Hossꦕain, said that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's stay in India will not affect Dhaka's bilateral ties withꦫ New Delhi.
On whether Hasina's prolonged stay in India will affect the relations between the two, Hossain said, "This is a hypothetical question. If someone stays in the country why the relations with that particular country would be affect🔯ed? There is no reaꦦson for that."
The 76-year-old Hasina resigned as the Bangladesh Prime Minister and fl🐷ed the country la🎉st week, taking shelter in India for the time being. She is currently in a safe house in an unspecified location.
Hossain was of the opinion that bilateral relations are a relation of interest and friendship is al♏so of interest. "Friendship does not exist if the🅷 interest is hurt," he added.
Both Dhaka and New Delhi have interests and they will follow those interests, Hossain said, adding that the relationship betwee🧜n the two nations is "not influenced by the presence of one individual in a country".
Hossain said that Bangladesh "will always try to maintain g🍸ood relations" with India.
Earlier, the foreign affairs adviser had briefed the diplomats in Dhaka, including Pranay Verma, the Indian High 💮Commissi♐oner to Bangladesh, on the situation in the nation and sought their support.
"We believe that all our friends and partners in the international community would continue to stand by the in🧔terim government and our people as we embark on charting a new future for Bangladesh," he told the diplomats.
A career diplomat and former foreign secrꦬetary, Hossain maintained that Bangladeshജ was committed towards upholding all agreements made with other countries.
The Foreign affairs adviཧser, meanwhile, also accused Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime of committing human r🧸ights violations in their bid to suppress a popular movement, ultimately leading to their ouster.
"However, 🌺the sheer power of people ultimately led to the fall of all authoritarian regimes," Hossain said,𝔉 adding that the nation had experienced a "second liberation" last week during the mass uprising led by "our courageous students".
He said that the🀅 Muhammad Yunus-led interim gove♛rnment was committed to meeting the renewed expectations of the people, expressing confidence that the international community will support their government.
"Baಞngladesh is on the brink of ཧa new beginning," Hossain said.
He told the diplomats that the interim government has taken swift measures to bring the law and order in control and br༒ing back normalcy in the country.
Notably, the briefing was attended by representatives f🍎rom all diplomatic missions in Dhaka, including the UN agencies. They also inquired about the security measures, Rohingya issue and the current situatꦿion.
"We can assure that the sa🌟fety and security of the diplomatic and consular premises andಞ persons will remain one of our core priorities," he added.
He said that the interim government's focus 𒊎remౠains on ensuring a smooth transition to "inclusive and pluralistic electoral democracy as soon as possible ".
During his first press briefing on Sunday, H🐷ossain had said that the matter of possibly bringing Sheikh Hasina back home fell under the jurisdiction of the law ministry, adding that his office 𓄧would respond only if that ministry makes any such request.
Md Touhid Hossain 🌟said that the interim government's policy is to maintain good relations with all countries while protecting Bangladesh's national interests.
"We intend to maintain smooth and positive relations with all... including India and China🧸," Hossain said.
On the interim government's approach towards India, Hossain sa▨id that both sides share a strong and deep bond. But, he said, "It is imperative that people feel India is a goo🥃d friend of Bangladesh...We want that, we want to advance (Dhaka-Delhi) relation towards that direction."
Interim government's head and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said that the resignations of all the high-profile authorities close to former PM Sheikh Hasina are legal after pro꧑testing students issued ultimatums to officials in Hasina's government.
"Legally, all the st♔eps were taken," the 83-year-old Yunus told reporters.
In the past few days, Bangladesh's chief justice, all five justices of the appellate division and the central bank governor have all resigned. This comes a result of wee𝕴ks of protests of the students movement against the Awami League government.
Yunus, notably, said that one of the key prioriti🍸es of the interim gꦓovernment is to restore the independence of the judiciary.
He termed the former Chief Justice Obaidul Hossain to be "just a hangman". Hossai🐷n is considered to be a loyalist to former PM Sheikh Hasina.
Meanwhile🥂, Syed Refaat Ahmed was appointed as the new Chief Justice on Sunday after student leaders proposed his name for the post.
Students have vowed to cleanse t🌞he political system ofꦅ Hasina's rule, which they have denounced as autocratic.
Yunu🌳s took over as the head of the 🎀interim government last week and had said that he was just helping achieve the students' dream. He had described the fall of Hasina's regime as the result of a "student-led revolution".
The White House has strongly refuted allegations that the United States interferred in the internal affairs of Bangladesh, leadiꦓng to the resignation and fleeing of former Prim♏e Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“We have had no involvement at all. Any reports or rumours that the United States government was involved i🍰n these events is simply false. That is not true,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during her daily conference.
"This is a choice for and by the Bangladeshi people. We believe that the B๊angladeshi people should ꦜdetermine the future of the Bangladeshi govt. Any allegations as I have said and will continue to say, are not true," Jean-Pierre added.
Amid ꦅtensions over several Hindu temples and establishments being vandalised, Muhammad Yunus met with the Hindu Bengali leaders in the nation at the Dhakeshwari Temple on ⭕Tuesday.
He urged people 🐻to "exercise p🐎atience" before judging the role of his interim government.
Yunus said that everyone's rights should b🧸e ensured and blamed "institutional decay" for the predicament that his country has fallen into.
“Rights are equal for everyone. We are all one people with one right. Do not make any distinctions among us. Please, assist us. Exercise patience, and later judge -- what we were able to do and not. If we fail, then criticise us,” the Nobel laureate was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper.
“In our democratic aspirations, we should not be seen as Muslims, 🧸Hind♓us, or Buddhists, but as human beings. Our rights should be ensured. The root of all problems lies in the decay of institutional arrangements. That is why such issues arise. Institutional arrangements need to be fixed,” Yunus added.
The Yunus-led interim government has vowed to punish vandals who defaced temples belonging to the nation's minorities and carried out ar꧋son attacks, loots on their properties.
The 83-year-old Nobel laureate had condemned the attacks, calling them "heinous". He had said that no can can harm them, "they ar🔜e my brothers, we fought together and we will stay together".