No formal talks with India yet on repatriation of ex-home minister Kamal: Touhid

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has said there have been no formal discussions with India regarding the extradition of former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who has been sentenced to death in a case over crimes against humanity committed during last year's July Uprising.

While Kamal is currently in India, New Delhi has not provided any official information confirming this, the adviser said while speaking at the "DCAB Talk", an event hosted by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB), in Dhaka, according to media reports.

Earlier, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam had recently indicated that extradition proceedings could begin with Kamal.

On ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the adviser said that even if India does not return her, Dhaka-Delhi relations will not come to a halt. 

However, since she has been convicted, Bangladesh expects to have her returned as quickly as possible, he added.

The International Crimes Tribunal on 17 November sentenced Hasina and her home minister Kamal to death in a case involving crimes against humanity committed during last year's July Uprising.

Another accused, former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, was sentenced to five years in prison owing to his becoming a state witness. Hasina and Kamal had been tried in absentia. 

On 26 November, India said it was examining Bangladesh's request for the extradition of Hasina.

The request was being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.