Bangladesh Will Not Issue Passport to Hasina: State Minister

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir has said Bangladesh will not issue a new passport to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

He said a verdict had already been delivered in Hasina's trial, describing her as a terrorist and a death-row convict. Bangladesh wants to bring her back from India under the prisoner exchange agreement between the two countries, he added.

The state minister made the remarks during a briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday (November 9).

Commenting on Hasina's application for a new passport, Humayun Kabir said, “Her application for passport renewal is ridiculous. She is a death-row convict. A convicted person, a murderer, cannot make such an application.”

He said Hasina would have to return to Bangladesh under the prisoner exchange agreement with India. He also questioned the motives of lobbyists working on her behalf for financial gain.

The state minister said Bangladesh had clearly informed India that Hasina must be sent back under the agreement.

Meanwhile, Hasina has applied for a new passport and national identity card (NID) as part of her reported preparations to return to Bangladesh from India.

Her lawyers sent a letter concerning the applications to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Monday (November 9), according to a copy of the letter.

Lawyers from London-based legal firm Matrix Chambers sent the letter to Preeti Rahman, Bangladesh's acting high commissioner in New Delhi, on Hasina's behalf.

Hasina fled Bangladesh for India on August 5, 2024, after being ousted amid the student-led mass uprising. This is her first formal application to the Bangladesh High Commission for a new passport and NID since then.