Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has said that Bangladesh has formally sent a letter to India requesting the return of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

The adviser confirmed the development while speaking to a group of journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday evening.

Touhid said the letter was sent from the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi to India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Friday (21 Nov).

The request seeks the repatriation of the two individuals who left the country following political turmoil.

Earlier, the adviser had said that the government had not yet received a response to the previous letter sent to India regarding Sheikh Hasina.

“But now the situation is different,” he said. “A punishment has been handed down. We also have agreements with India. We will officially request her return.”

On 17 November, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina and Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death.