Politics
Hasina seeks new passport, NID from Bangladesh High Commission: Reuters
Translated by Desk Report
Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is staying in India, has applied to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi for a new passport and national identity card (NID), Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, lawyers from Hasina’s London-based legal firm, Matrix Chambers, submitted the request in a letter to Bangladesh’s acting high commissioner in Delhi, Priti Rahman, on Monday (November 9). The news agency said it had reviewed the letter.
The lawyers said in the letter that they had learned the interim government and the relevant authorities had cancelled Hasina’s previous Bangladeshi passport and national identity card. They requested the necessary steps to issue her a new passport and NID.
They also called for the applications to be processed promptly, citing her rights as a Bangladeshi citizen and obligations under international human rights instruments.
Reuters said this was Sheikh Hasina’s first formal contact with Bangladeshi authorities since she left the country after being ousted in a mass uprising in August 2024.
The government, however, has taken a different position on bringing Hasina back to Bangladesh. On November 5, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir told reporters that no new passport or travel pass would be issued to facilitate her return. Instead, steps would be taken to bring her back under the existing extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh.
The state minister said Hasina did not need a passport to return to Bangladesh. Her handover would have to be arranged through the judicial process under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
On November 8, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman also said the government would take all necessary legal steps to bring Hasina back under the prisoner exchange agreement. He expressed hope that the Indian government would cooperate.
Reuters contacted Bangladesh’s acting high commissioner in Delhi, Priti Rahman, and spokespersons for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka for comment on Hasina’s passport and NID applications. They did not immediately respond by the time the report was published.
Hasina has reportedly expressed a wish on various occasions during her stay in India to return to Bangladesh in December this year.
