Dhaka: Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally sought the issuance of a fresh Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID), marking a significant step towards her return to Bangladesh, her party, the Awami League, announced on Monday.
The move comes amid reports that the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration had revoked her existing documents.
According to the party, through her legal representatives at London-based Matrix Chambers, Hasina has approached the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, urging it to expedite the process. The request cited her Bangladeshi nationality and Bangladesh’s obligations under international human rights instruments.
Hasina has reaffirmed her plan to return to Bangladesh in December and face the legal proceedings against her.
The latest development is seen as a significant step towards fulfilling that intention after spending more than two years in India, the party mentioned.
“The daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, Sheikh Hasina’s roots, identity and political journey are inseparably connected to Bangladesh. Her homeland is where she belongs, and her desire to return is a matter of national identity and the fundamental right to return to one’s own country. No force on earth can forever stand in the way of the daughter of Bangabandhu returning to her roots, her homeland and her people,” the Awami League stated.
Last week, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said that Dhaka wanted India to hand over Hasina under the existing extradition treaty, rejecting suggestions that she would need a passport or other travel documents to return.
“We want Hasina to be handed over. She will be handed over. She is a terrorist. She is a fugitive. There is an active extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India,” Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star quoted Humaiun as saying.
“Is she coming to visit her in-laws’ home in Rangpur that we need to give her a passport?….. This is a matter of handover, and a judicial process is in place,” he said.
Earlier in October, addressing a Washington-based press conference virtually, Hasina declared that she was determined to return to her country despite the possibility of being arrested, tortured or killed, saying she cannot remain away while her supporters and ordinary Bangladeshis continue to suffer.
Hasina said the dangers surrounding her return would not prevent her from going back to Bangladesh. She left Bangladesh following the collapse of her government in August 2024.
“How risky it is, I don’t care. I have to go back,” Hasina said.
The former Prime Minister, who has been living in India since her removal from power, thanked the Indian government and people for receiving her and providing refuge during a period of political upheaval.
“Well, thanks to Indian government, and the people, all party, they received me just like 1975,” she said, recalling the period when she and her sister survived the assassination of several members of their family.
(IANS)
