India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Bangladesh has sent a diplomatic note seeking the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Responding to questions from reporters at the weekly briefing on Monday (December 23), he said, “We have received a diplomatic note from Bangladesh seeking the return of Sheikh Hasina. However, he refused to comment on the matter.

Earlier, Bangladesh had written to the country’s Home Ministry to bring ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina back from India, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Towhid Hossain had said.

Towhid Hossain said, “We have clearly informed India. We have informed India that we want Sheikh Hasina back for the sake of justice.”

In response to a question from reporters about what the process of seeking her return could be, he said, “Through a note verbale (diplomatic letter) to the Indian government.”

Earlier, at a function held in Peelkhana on Monday, Home Affairs Adviser Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that a letter has been sent to the Foreign Ministry to take necessary measures to bring ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina back to the country.

He said that a letter has been sent to our Foreign Ministry regarding her return. The matter is under process. In response to a question, the Home Affairs Adviser said that there is an extradition treaty with India. The Government of India will be asked to return Sheikh Hasina according to that agreement.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has been in India since leaving the post of Prime Minister on August 5 and fleeing there. Although some of her party's senior leaders have been arrested, most are still in hiding.

The Awami League government formed the International Crimes Tribunal in 2010 to try crimes against humanity in 1971. Now, the interim government has taken the initiative to try the Awami League government's repression of the student and public movement as 'genocide'.

During the student and public protests from July 5 to August 5, many allegations of 'genocide and crimes against humanity' were submitted to the tribunal's investigation agency and prosecution office across the country.

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family have been accused of embezzling nearly 4 billion from the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Pabna. Tulip Siddique, Sheikh Hasina's niece and a minister from the UK's ruling Labour Party, has been named in the investigation into the allegations. She has been questioned by the Justice and Ethics Team of the UK Cabinet Office in this incident.

On Sunday (December 22), the media outlet The Sunday Times reported that Tulip was questioned on Thursday. She presented her position there though Tulip herself did not comment on the interrogation. However, a spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said that she denied the claim of being involved in the embezzlement.

Tulip is a member of the British Labour cabinet. She serves as the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. Her job is to tackle corruption within the UK's financial markets.

It has been alleged that Tulip mediated the Rooppur power plant talks with Russia in 2013. Although she was not in any government position in Britain at the time, she was not in any government position.

In addition to Tulip Siddique, Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Sister Sheikh Rehana have also been accused of embezzlement.

Downing Street, the British Prime Minister's Office, has said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confidence in Tulip and will continue to oversee anti-corruption measures. She will continue to serve as a minister.

The British Prime Minister's spokesman said that Starmer has also denied any involvement in the allegations of Tulip Siddique's involvement in embezzlement.

Another media outlet, the Daily Mail, reported that Tulip will be questioned next month. In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission will send a letter to the UK through the British High Commission in Dhaka. Through this, she will fall under the foreign crime investigation.

Israeli military attacks continue across the besieged Gaza Strip. In the last 24 hours, 77 more Palestinians have lost their lives in these attacks. Another 174 people were injured during this time.

This information was reported by the Qatar-based news media Al-Jazeera on Saturday (December 21).

The report, citing the Gaza Health Ministry, said that at least 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Among them, at least eight were killed in an apartment in the Nussirat refugee camp and at least 10 in Jabalia. This brings the total number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza to 77 in the past 24 hours. Another 174 were injured in these attacks.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Education said that nearly 13,000 students have been killed in the brutal attacks by the Israeli military in Gaza so far. In addition, more than 20,000 students have been injured.

The Rehabilitation Department of the Israeli Ministry of Defense said that 13,500 Israeli military officers and members have been injured in the Gaza-Israel conflict so far. Of these, 1,500 have been injured twice. 37 percent of the injured soldiers suffer from limb injuries, most of whom have suffered bone injuries. In addition, about 5,200 suffer from mental illness.

Israel has been carrying out continuous air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since Hamas' unprecedented cross-border attacks on October 7. Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques, and churches, have been damaged or destroyed in the Israeli attack.

85 percent of Palestinians have been displaced by the Israeli attack. And amid severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, all of Gaza is now in a state of food insecurity.

It is worth noting that at least 45,206 people have been killed in the Israeli military attack on Gaza so far. Another 107,512 have been injured during this time.

On the other hand, 1,139 people have been killed in the Hamas attack on Israel. More than 200 Israeli citizens are imprisoned.

India has protested against the Facebook comments of Mahfuz Alam, an adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has lodged a formal protest with Dhaka over the issue, said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the country's Ministry of External Affairs.

The Indian media outlet 'The Hindu' reported this in a report on Friday (December 20).

The report said that in a recent Facebook post, adviser Mahfuz Alam had said that India should recognize the rebellion that forced the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign. In another post, he claimed that certain Indian territories should be part of Bangladesh. However, he later deleted the post.

In this regard, Jaiswal said, we have registered our strong protest on this issue on behalf of Bangladesh. We understand that the post mentioned has been removed.

Reminding leaders of neighboring Bangladesh of the importance of responsible comments, Randhir Jaiswal also said that New Delhi would like to advise all concerned to be responsible while making public comments.

Reiterating India's interest in improving relations with the interim government of Bangladesh, Jaiswal said that India has repeatedly indicated its interest in developing relations with the people and the interim government of Bangladesh.