The Bangladesh government under Muhammad Yunus has voiced strong opposition to India’s intensified deportation of Bangladeshi nationals, accusing New Delhi of forcibly declaring individuals as foreigners and deporting them without proper legal procedures. Muhammad Tushid Hossain, foreign affairs adviser to the Yunus administration, confirmed that Dhaka intends to send a formal diplomatic note to New Delhi expressing these concerns.
This diplomatic tension follows India’s heightened security operations after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Since the launch of “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, Indian authorities have stepped up efforts to deport illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Hossain criticized India’s “cross-border forceful push” despite official claims that each deportation is individually reviewed and only verified nationals are repatriated. “We will issue a substantive new letter. Forced deportations are ongoing, and we have yet to halt them through diplomatic or other means,” he said.
India has provided Bangladesh with a list of individuals identified as Bangladeshi nationals, some of whom have been cleared through Dhaka’s verification process. Hossain emphasized that Bangladesh is committed to ensuring all deportations follow established procedures and that formal consular mechanisms have been established. Routine communications between the two countries will continue.
He also noted that no new developments have occurred regarding the pending extradition request for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but suggested that further diplomatic correspondence may follow if necessary.
Since the nationwide verification drive, Indian authorities are believed to have deported over 2,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Officials add that a similar number voluntarily returned amid fears sparked by the crackdown, which has mainly targeted border states including Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam.
Roughly half of the deportees reportedly originated from Gujarat, one of the first states to initiate roundup operations. Others were deported from Delhi, Haryana, Assam, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal has filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging Assam’s deportation policy. On June 2, the court issued a notice in response to a habeas corpus petition concerning the alleged unlawful detention of Bangladeshi national Monowara Begum, who was granted bail in December 2019.
Represented by Sibal, the petition claims a police superintendent ignored court orders by forcibly deporting Begum from India. This case highlights ongoing legal battles over Assam’s foreigner identification processes, which have been under Supreme Court scrutiny since 2017.
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