Home Minister calls for `fresh start` with India

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed called for a "fresh start" in relations with India on Monday, urging both nations to set aside historical grievances and forge a more substantive, friendship-driven partnership grounded in the deep geographic, social, political and economic interdependence binding the two neighbours.

The appeal came during a courtesy call by Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Tripathi at the Home Ministry's Secretariat office, where the two sides held what officials described as a highly productive and constructive exchange on bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest. Salahuddin acknowledged that differences and unresolved issues between the countries were natural, but insisted these could be resolved through dialogue conducted on the basis of equality, while urging India to approach the process with genuine sincerity and a positive disposition. Tripathi, in turn, struck a warm note, observing that the two nations shared not merely a border but a common aspiration for prosperity, and characterised the presence of differing viewpoints as an inherent feature of democratic culture rather than an obstacle to overcome. He further disclosed that his recent meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had unfolded in an unusually cordial atmosphere, describing the premier as a modest leader closely attuned to the public, and expressed gratitude for the warmth he said he had received from ordinary Bangladeshis.

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Extradition emerged as the meeting's most consequential thread. Citing the existing prisoner-exchange and extradition treaty, Salahuddin formally pressed the Indian envoy to expedite the return of all fugitives identified as residing in India, including former premier Sheikh Hasina, so they might face Bangladesh's judicial process, while reiterating an equally forceful demand for the extradition of those accused in the killing of Shaheed Sharif Osman bin Hadi. Tripathi responded that India would subject these matters to due legal scrutiny before reaching any decision -- a measured reply that observers nonetheless read as a meaningful step toward dismantling the long-standing friction between the two governments and opening a new chapter of mutual trust.