Bangladesh rejects Sheikh Hasina passport request as return bid intensifies

Bangladesh has rejected Sheikh Hasina's request for a new passport, sharpening the legal and political standoff over the ousted leader's reported plan to return from India. The former prime minister has sought travel documents and a national identity card, according to the supplied reporting, but Dhaka says she must instead face the extradition process. The dispute comes as Hasina remains in exile more than two years after fleeing Bangladesh following the 2024 uprising.

A senior foreign ministry official said Bangladesh would not issue passports to what he described as terrorists who killed thousands of people and fled, and said the government would work through existing extradition arrangements with India. A prosecutor involved in Hasina's case also said she would be executed if she returned home, reflecting the severity of the sentence already handed down in absentia. Hasina was sentenced to death last year by the International Crimes Tribunal over crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on student-led protests in 2024.

The immediate stakes are high because the case sits at the intersection of criminal justice, domestic politics and relations with India. Hasina's reported attempt to secure documents suggests she is still trying to shape the terms of any return, while the government that replaced her is signalling that she will not be allowed to come back on her own terms. The issue is also sensitive because her return could reopen the political tensions that followed the uprising and the collapse of her rule.

The background to the dispute is the 2024 uprising that forced Hasina from power after nearly 20 years at the centre of Bangladeshi politics. The reporting says more than 1,400 people were killed in the unrest, according to United Nations estimates cited in the coverage. That scale of violence has made the legal case against her one of the most consequential in the country's recent history, and it continues to shape the political environment in Dhaka.

Hasina's position remains deeply polarising. The reporting says she still has support among some sections of the population, while others want to see her punished for the crackdown. Analysts quoted in the coverage question whether her passport request reflects a genuine plan to return and face the courts, or whether it is also intended to keep her politically relevant from exile in India.

That uncertainty adds to the significance of the document request itself, which has become a public test of whether a return is actually imminent. The extradition dimension is equally important because Hasina is currently in India, and Bangladesh is now pointing to formal legal channels rather than administrative approval. The government's response suggests it wants to frame the issue as a matter for law enforcement and treaty obligations, not political negotiation.

It also indicates that any return would likely be contested from the outset, rather than managed as a routine travel matter. What remains unclear is whether Hasina will continue to press for documents, whether India will face a formal extradition request, and whether any return date is realistic. It is also not yet clear how Bangladeshi authorities would handle her arrival if she attempted to come back without a completed legal process.

For now, the passport rejection shows that the path back to Bangladesh is likely to remain blocked by both legal and political obstacles.

Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has requested a new passport and national identity card as she prepares for a possible return from exile in India. The request is the clearest sign yet that she intends to travel back to Bangladesh in December, as she has previously said. Her aides said the exact date would be announced once formalities are completed.

Hasina told Reuters that she intends to surrender before a court in Bangladesh. In a letter to the government, she asked for her request to be processed expeditiously on the basis of her Bangladeshi nationality. She has been living in India for two years, and the move comes after a long period of political uncertainty following her removal from office.

The legal backdrop is severe. Bangladesh's war crimes court sentenced Hasina to death in absentia last November over what it said was her role in a deadly crackdown on student protests in 2024. United Nations estimates cited in the reporting put the death toll from those protests at as many as 1,400 people.

Her return would therefore place her directly back into a highly charged judicial and political process. Hasina is one of the most prominent figures in Bangladesh's recent political history. She served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2009 to 2024, making her the country's longest-ruling prime minister.

She is also the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's founder and first president, which has long given her political standing as well as controversy. Her possible return matters beyond the courtroom. Supporters still remain among sections of the population, and her presence could affect efforts by the current authorities to stabilise the country and its economy after two years of disruption.

The development also has regional implications, because relations with India deteriorated sharply after she fled there in 2024. What remains unclear is whether all formalities will be completed in time for a December return and how the authorities will handle her arrival. It is also not yet known whether the court process will move quickly once she is back in the country.

For now, the request for travel documents is the strongest indication that a return is being actively prepared.

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