Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says her country gave shelter to the fleeing Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds, but they should eventually return to Myanmar

New Delhi — Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged India and other countries to mount pressure on Myanmar to take back over a million Rohingya Muslims who have sought shelter in her country to escape a military offensive. Hasina says Bangladesh gave shelter to the fleeing Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds, but they should return to Myanmar.

"There are 11 lakh (1.1 million) Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. We have given them shelter due to humanitarian consideration; we want them to go back to their land. We cannot help offering shelter to oppressed people. We appeal to all to keep up pressure on the government of Myanmar to take them back," Sheikh Hasina said in the presence of her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in the Indian port city of Kolkata on Friday.

The Indian government has so far refused to provide shelter to Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar on the ground of national security. The Indian government is fighting a case in the Supreme Court filed by two Rohingyas against deportation plans involving around 40,000 people from Myanmar who entered into the country through the porous eastern border.