‘Is Sheikh Hasina coming here to visit her in-laws?’: Why Bangladesh may turn down ex-PM’s passport request

In her first attempt to return from self-imposed exile in India, ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested a new passport and identity card on Monday. 

Hasina has been seeking refuge in India for over two years after the students' uprising in Bangladesh threw her from power. Reportedly, she plans to return to her country in December. Hasina's Awami League is currently banned in the country, with many of its leaders jailed and several in self-imposed exile. 

Reuters on Monday reported that Hasina's lawyers had written to Bangladesh's embassy in New Delhi seeking fresh travel and identity documents.  

The reports said that she plans to return and surrender before the court in Bangladesh, and the date would be announced once various formalities were completed. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's state minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told The Daily Star that there is an active extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India and she would not need a passport under the existing treaty. 

Kobir insisted that they want Hasina to be handed over and that she is a "terrorist" and "fugitive". "Is she coming to visit her in-laws' home in Rangpur that we need to give her a passport?' he was quoted by The Daily Star. 

In November last year, Bangladesh's war-crimes court sentenced her to death 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.

The letter also 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".

India-Bangladesh extradition plan

The bilateral relation operates under the 2013 Extradition Treaty (amended in 2016). Under the existing treaty, if a state extradits an individual, a standard commercial passport is unnecessary. Government-to-government transfers of extradited individuals are executed via state-issued travel permits or direct custody transfers handled by security agencies.

Following her ouster in August 2024 and subsequent sentencing by a special tribunal in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi government formally submitted a legal request to India demanding her repatriation. 

Officials in Dhaka maintain that Sheikh Hasina should be returned as a "convicted criminal/fugitive," asserting that formal extradition procedures through the Ministry of Home Affairs take precedence over normal travel provisions.

Though India has acknowledged the receipt of the extradition demand, it has not committed to handing her over. New Delhi is examining the request under its internal legal framework and political considerations, keeping the process effectively under review.

Hasina's return to Bangladesh

Hasina's return comes amid serious legal challenges. Having ruled Bangladesh for 20 years as the prime minister, Hasina still enjoys support among sections of the population. According to political observers, her return could sharpen the 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.