Islamabad, November 21, 2025: Pakistan on Friday described the recent death sentence handed down to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina as an “internal matter” of Bangladesh, saying the country’s people were fully capable of resolving their own political and constitutional issues.
Earlier this week, a Bangladesh court sentenced Hasina to death after a months-long trial that found her guilty of ordering a lethal crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. The verdict comes just weeks before Bangladesh heads to parliamentary elections expected in early February.
During his weekly press briefing, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said he had received multiple queries about the development.
“This is an internal matter of Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh are fully capable of addressing their issues in accordance with their own democratic and constitutional processes,” he said.
Hasina, who fled to India 15 months ago after resigning amid nationwide unrest that claimed hundreds of lives, was convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka — the same court she had established to try war crimes from the 1971 independence war.
Following the verdict, Bangladesh urged India to return Hasina, calling non-cooperation an unfriendly gesture and a violation of the countries’ extradition treaty. However, New Delhi has so far declined to send her back, reaffirming its commitment to the “best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy, inclusion and stability,” and vowing to engage constructively with all stakeholders.
The latest development comes at a time when relations between Islamabad and Dhaka have been on an upward trajectory, with recent improvements noted in trade and bilateral cooperation.
