WorldPosted at: Nov 9 2026 6:40PM


Sheikh Hasina applies for new passport and ID as Bangladesh reviews request

Dhaka, Nov 9 (UNI) Ousted Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly applied for a new passport and national identity card (NID) through the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, raising fresh speculation about her possible return from exile. However, Dhaka said it has yet to verify the authenticity of the reported application.
According to a letter obtained by a news agency, Hasina submitted the applications via email on Monday through lawyers representing her from London-based legal firm Matrix Chambers. It is the first reported attempt by the former prime minister to obtain replacement documents since she fled to India from Bangladesh on August 5, 2024 following the mass-student-led July Uprising.
The letter, addressed to Acting High Commissioner Priti Rahman, said Hasina’s Bangladeshi passport and NID had reportedly been cancelled by the former interim government of Mohd Yunus and other authorities.
Her lawyers requested that the High Commission take the necessary steps to issue fresh documents, citing her citizenship and Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights treaties.
Hasina has previously expressed her intention to return to Bangladesh in December 2026, and said she is ready to face the consequences.
Associates said on Monday that the date of her return would be announced once the necessary formalities were completed.
However, Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the authenticity and legal basis of applications by Hasina for a passport and national identity card (NID) to facilitate her return to Bangladesh are being examined.
He said the Foreign Affairs and Law ministries were examining the matter, including the legal standing of the application, procedural requirements and Hasina’s eligibility under the Passport Act, Citizenship Act and NID Act.
A formal statement would be issued once the review was complete.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs State Minister Humaiun Kobir has dismissed the reported application as “drama” and reiterated the government’s demand that India extradite Hasina under the existing bilateral treaty.
“She fled the country. There is no scope now for staging a drama about returning with a new passport. If she genuinely wants to return, there is a specific legal process for that. Bangladesh and India have an extradition treaty. Let her ask the Indian government to hand her over to Bangladesh under that treaty. She can then return, surrender before the court and serve her sentence,” Kobir said, according to Prothom Alo.
He also maintained that Bangladesh would not issue passports to individuals it considered terrorists.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government had already submitted a formal extradition request to India through the Foreign Ministry, seeking Hasina’s return in accordance with the treaty.
In November 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia over allegations that she ordered a deadly crackdown during the 2024 student-led uprising. She has denied the allegations and remains in India in exile.
Hasina served as prime minister for a total of 20 years across several terms.
Before her removal, the Awami League was Bangladesh’s largest political party, though it was banned by the Yunus-led interim government, and remains so.
Nonetheless the AL continues to enjoy massive public support.
Several of its leaders and activists have since either been imprisoned or otherwise gone into exile in India and other countries.
India granted Hasina refuge after her departure in August 2024, but relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have deteriorated since then, mainly over the issue.
The reported passport application and the continuing extradition dispute could add further strain to bilateral ties.
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