Bangladesh and Canada, after years of failed negotiations, have finally agreed to find a solution to perhaps the most crucial issue between the two countries – the extradition of Noor Chowdhury.
The self-confessed killer of the nation’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has been hiding in Canada. The consensus came after a meeting between Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau in Montreal.
The statement came from Foreign Secretary Shahidul Huq who addressed reporters after the meeting saying that the two countries would work to find a solution to extradite Chowdhury from Canada. “The aim of the discussion would be to bring Noor Chowdhury to justice and execute the verdict of the Bangabandhu murder case,” he said.
Chowdhury, now in his 70s, is a former Bangladeshi military officer who was convicted in August 1975 for assassinating Sheikh Mujib. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh sentenced Chowdhury along with 11 others Sheikh Mujibs assassination case. Five of them were hanged in 2010. Chowdhury has avoided returning to Bangladesh who was granted a visitor status in Canada in 1965.
This issue of Chowdhury’s extradition has been complicated by the fact that Canada abolished capital punishment in 1998 whereas he faces the death penalty in Bangladesh and will be hanged upon return.
The meeting between the two premiers also discussed the issue of militancy describing it as a “global problem”. The two leaders discussed trade issues, including investment and export of garment products, said the foreign secretary.
This was the first visit of an elected Bangladeshi prime minister to Canada in 30 years.
COURTESY: TIMES OF INDIA
