Hasina Requests New Passport After Two Years
The former prime minister seeks identification documents to return to Bangladesh from exile in India.
By Anthony Shevchenko ·
Nearly 1,400 people died in the uprising that removed Sheikh Hasina from power, a figure cited by the United Nations.
Hasina, who has been living in exile for two years, requested a new passport on Monday. The application aims to help her return to Bangladesh. Her legal team sent the request to the country's diplomatic mission in New Delhi. The letter came from London-based law firm Matrix Chambers. It asked officials to process the application quickly. The firm cited Hasina's nationality and international human rights obligations as reasons for the request. They also asked for a national identity card.
Abu Obaidha Arin, an aide to Hasina, described the move as a step toward her return. He noted that the previous government revoked her documents. He said she looks forward to reclaiming her rights as a citizen. Arin stated that Hasina is determined to come home by December. He added that she will undoubtedly return.
Hasina told the Associated Press in an interview this month that she would return in December at any cost. The current government has previously dismissed the idea that she needed new identification. Instead, Dhaka has pursued an extradition deal with India. On Thursday, Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told reporters that Bangladesh wants India to hand her over. He called her a terrorist and a fugitive. He noted that an active extradition treaty exists between the two nations. India has declined to surrender her so far.
Hasina left Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, after the military sent her to India. Student-led protests had forced her from power that day. A special tribunal in 2025 sentenced her to death for crimes against humanity. The court ruled she ordered the crackdown that left hundreds dead and thousands injured. Hasina denies any wrongdoing. She has rejected the verdict and challenged the trial's legitimacy.
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, headed the interim government after Hasina's ouster. His administration held an election in February. Hasina's Awami League party was barred from running in that vote. Tarique Rahman, the son of a longtime rival of Hasina, won the election in a landslide.
Officials in Dhaka did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new passport application.
