Foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister Humayun Kabir said that Dhaka had urged New Delhi to ensure that Indian territory was not used for any activities against Bangladesh, in remarks linked to concerns over deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled to India on August 5 in 2024 amid the student-led mass uprising.

During a briefing at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday, he referred to the former prime minister as an ‘autocrat’ and ‘terrorist’, alleging responsibility for large-scale fatalities during the 2024 mass uprising.

He also said that Sheikh Hasina was now irrelevant to the country’s current political context.

Humayun Kabir’s comments came in the context of a recent high-level visit by foreign minister Khalilur Rahman to India on a goodwill mission, after which he also travelled to Mauritius to join the Indian Ocean Conference held in April 10–12.

The delegation held meetings with India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval, with Humayun accompanying the foreign minister.

The adviser said that Hasina’s political significance had diminished considerably and stressed that the focus of bilateral engagement had shifted towards forward-looking cooperation.

The PM’s adviser described the talks as a ‘very good start’ for strengthening bilateral relations, adding that discussions were held in a constructive and positive atmosphere.

Both sides demonstrated willingness to move the relationship forward and addressed a range of routine and urgent issues, he further said.

A central point of the discussion was easing of travel restrictions, Humayun said, adding Bangladesh had pressed for the early restoration of medical visas for its citizens seeking treatment in India, along with the resumption of business visa facilities.

According to him, Indian counterparts responded positively to the requests.

Humayun said that progress on visa facilitation could be expected within the coming week, signalling a potential easing of restrictions that had affected cross-border movement in the recent months.