WorldPosted at: Nov 5 2026 7:14PM


Bangladesh rules out passport for ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, says India must hand her over as per extradition treaty

Dhaka, Nov 5 (UNI) Bangladesh will not issue an ordinary passport or travel document to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to facilitate her return from India, with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir insisting that New Delhi must hand her over under the two countries' existing extradition treaty.
Speaking to journalists at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, where he was seeing off a delegation led by Liu Haixing, minister of the International Department of the CCP Central Committee, Kobir said there was no need for a passport to secure the return of someone wanted for serious crimes.
"We have an extradition treaty (with India) for apprehending terrorists and criminals. A passport is not required to bring back terrorists or criminals. It is a matter of handing them over," he said.
Kobir called Hasina, who has been sentenced to death, a fugitive and terrorist, questioning why the government should treat her as an ordinary traveller.
"Sheikh Hasina is a fugitive and a terrorist. She is not someone coming to visit her in-laws in Rangpur, for whom we would issue a passport so that she could travel here," he said.
Accusing the ousted leader of responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people before she left Bangladesh, he reiterated that Dhaka was seeking her formal handover rather than facilitating her return through normal travel arrangements.
"We are demanding her handover. She should be handed over," he said, adding that Bangladesh would pursue the matter through the legal and diplomatic mechanisms established under the extradition treaty.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina's extradition, but India has so far declined to hand her over. The former prime minister has been living in India in exile since leaving Bangladesh in August 2024 following the ouster of her government. She has said she remains committed to returning in December, despite her death sentence over the deadly crackdown on protesters under her administration.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on October 3 that the extradition request was being processed through established legal channels, but no timeframe could be given because the matter involved the courts.
"The government of India, through the spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, has replied that there is a process, and the process involves legality, and it is well structured. So, as far as that is concerned, the process is on," Trivedi said.
He stressed that Hasina had still been Bangladesh's prime minister when she arrived in India, and that New Delhi had responded to the circumstances as a neighbouring country.
"At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that. It was our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life," he said.
Trivedi also rejected suggestions that Hasina had been brought to India by the Indian Air Force or Army, saying her arrival followed the rapidly unfolding situation in Bangladesh in August 2024.
"Hasina Ji was not brought to India by the Indian Air Force or Indian Army," he said, describing the circumstances as tragic and expressing hope that such events, in which innocent people lose their lives, would not be repeated.
He questioned what alternative India had at the time, saying refusing permission for Hasina to land could have led to an unpredictable situation.
Bangladesh's request for her extradition was also raised by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman during a meeting with Trivedi in Dhaka in August. The Ministry of External Affairs subsequently said the request was being examined in accordance with established procedures.
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