India

Hasina Requests New Passport and ID Card Ahead of Planned Return to Bangladesh

By Rezaul H Laskar

Sheikh Hasina, 79, has asked the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi for a new passport and national identity card to facilitate her planned return to Bangladesh in December. The former prime minister, who has lived in India since her government was ousted in a student‑led uprising in August 2024, confirmed to HT that her London‑based lawyers had written to the mission to request the documents. The letter, sent by Matrix Chambers in London to acting high commissioner Preeti Rahman, cited the revocation of her existing passport and NID by the interim government and asked for the necessary steps to issue new ones. No immediate response has been given by officials of the high commission or India’s external affairs ministry. The move is seen as a way for Hasina to assert her voluntary return and to have greater control over the method of her arrival, according to sources familiar with the matter. Hasina has stated that she intends to surrender to a court upon her return. In 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death for crimes against humanity related to a crackdown on student protests that left hundreds dead and thousands injured. She has denied the charges and challenged the tribunal’s legitimacy. Bangladesh has repeatedly called on India to extradite her, a request India says is being examined in line with legal processes. The planned return is also viewed as a means to keep the Awami League, currently banned, active in Bangladesh’s politics amid pressure on the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party government.