Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Plans Return from India, Seeks New Passport

Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has initiated steps for her return from self-imposed exile in India by requesting a new passport and identity card. This move signals her intention to fulfill her promise of returning to Bangladesh in December, after residing in India for two years.

Hasina informed the news agency Reuters of her plan to surrender before a court in Bangladesh. Her aides indicated that the specific date for this surrender would be announced once all necessary formalities are completed. It is worth noting that Bangladesh’s war crimes court had sentenced Hasina to death in absentia last November, stemming from her alleged order of a deadly crackdown on student protests in 2024. United Nations estimates suggest that as many as 1,400 people may have perished during these protests.

In a letter to the Bangladeshi government, cited by Reuters, Hasina urged for her request to be processed “expeditiously,” citing her Bangladeshi nationality. As the daughter of Bangladesh’s founder and first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina has a significant political legacy. She previously served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001, and again from 2009 to 2024.

Her potential return as Bangladesh’s longest-ruling prime minister introduces the possibility of renewed legal and political complexities in the nation of 127 million people. While she retains support among segments of the population, her return could influence the Bangladeshi government's efforts to achieve stability and economic recovery following two years of disruption. Conversely, her return might facilitate improved relations with India, which had significantly worsened after her departure to India in 2024.

Hasina was removed from power by a widespread, student-led protest movement that emerged after the Supreme Court reinstated a job quota system that had favored descendants of the country’s liberation activists.