Hasina seeks new passport in clearest sign of Bangladesh return

NEW DELHI: Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally requested a new passport and identity card so that she can return from self-imposed exile in India, according to a letter obtained by Reuters. The request is the clearest indication yet that Hasina intends to return to Bangladesh in December, over two years after her rule ended in a violent uprising.

The letter, seen by Reuters, was sent by Hasina's lawyers at London-based Matrix Chambers to Preeti Rahman, the acting high commissioner at Bangladesh's embassy in Delhi. In the letter, Hasina's attorneys expressed their "respectful request" for the issuance of a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card, citing the revocation of her existing documents by the interim government and other authorities.

Hasina, still supported by sections of the population despite her two-decade rule, plans to surrender before a court upon her return, though the date has not yet been announced. Her lawyers emphasized the need for the new documents to be issued "expeditiously" in accordance with international human rights instruments. Bangladesh's Awami League party, which Hasina leads, was the country's largest before her ban, and her return could potentially exacerbate political tensions in a nation grappling with instability following the upheaval that ousted her.