Ousted Bangladesh PM requests new passport to end two-year exile
Sheikh Hasina asked for identification documents via a letter to New Delhi as Dhaka pursues extradition from India.
By Ibrahim Howard ·
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested a new passport and national identity card on Monday to facilitate her return from exile. She was forced from power two years ago during a mass uprising. The move comes as the current government in Dhaka continues to seek her extradition from India.
A legal counsel for Hasina emailed a letter to Bangladesh's diplomatic mission in New Delhi. The document urged the top diplomat to take action to provide the former leader with her travel documents. Abu Obaidha Arin, an aide to Hasina, called the request a step toward her homecoming. He stated that Hasina looks forward to reclaiming her fundamental rights as a citizen.
Hasina told The Associated Press in an interview this month that she intends to return to Bangladesh in December at any cost. Arin reinforced this timeline in a statement. He said she is determined to return by the end of the year and will undoubtedly come home.
The Bangladesh government has previously dismissed the need for new identification. Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir spoke to reporters in Dhaka on Thursday. He said the country wants Hasina handed over under an extradition treaty with India. He described her as a terrorist and a fugitive. India has declined to hand her over so far.
The military sent Hasina to India after student-led protests ended her rule on August 5, 2024. A special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced her to death in 2025 for crimes against humanity. The court ruled she was responsible for ordering a crackdown that killed hundreds and injured thousands. The United Nations estimated that nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina denies any wrongdoing and has challenged the legitimacy of the trial.
An interim government led Bangladesh after the ouster. That body held an election in February. Hasina’s Awami League party was barred from contesting the vote. Tarique Rahman, the son of a longtime political rival, won the election in a landslide. The government in Dhaka did not immediately provide comment on the new passport request.
