Hasina seeks new passport in clearest sign of Bangladesh return

Ousted ​Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina requested on Monday a new passport and identity card ‌so she can return from self-imposed exile in India, according to a letter seen by Reuters, her first such communication since fleeing in 2024.

The request marks the clearest step by Hasina to act on her plan ​to return to Bangladesh in December, more than two years after an uprising ​ended her long rule, raising the prospect of fresh political and legal tensions ⁠in a country where her party is now banned.

She has told Reuters she plans to return to surrender before a court, and her aides said on Monday the date would be announced ​once various formalities were completed. Bangladesh's war-crimes court sentenced her to death in November last year in her absence for ordering a deadly crackdown on the student-led uprising, though she has denied the charges from exile.

"In view ​of the reported revocation of her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) by the Interim ​Government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi ‌passport ⁠and National Identity Card for our client," Hasina's lawyers at London-based Matrix Chambers wrote to Preeti Rahman, acting high commissioner at Bangladesh's embassy in Delhi.

Read: Bangladesh's ex-Prime Minister Hasina loses right to appeal death sentence: prosecutor

The letter asked for the applications to be processed "expeditiously" on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality and in accordance with "obligations arising under international human ​rights instruments".

Rahman in Delhi and ​spokespeople for Prime ⁠Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hasina's Awami League party was the country's largest before it was banned ​following her fall. Many of her party colleagues have either been jailed ​or are ⁠in self-imposed exile in India or elsewhere.

Having ruled Bangladesh for 20 years as prime minister across multiple terms, Hasina still enjoys support among sections of the population, and a return could sharpen political ⁠divisions as ​the government in Dhaka seeks to restore stability after more ​than two years of upheaval.

On the other hand, it could improve Bangladesh's strained ties with India, which deteriorated sharply after ​New Delhi gave her refuge.