Bangladesh will formally ask India to extradite former prime minister Sheikh Hasina under the existing bilateral extradition treaty, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said on Monday, dismissing her reported application for a new Bangladeshi passport and national identity card as “Absurd”.
Speaking to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Humayun Kabir said Bangladesh would not issue a passport or national ID card to “a fugitive and death-sentenced accused”.
“Bangladesh will not provide passports or NID cards to any terrorist,” Humayun Kabir said, referring to Hasina as a terrorist. “There is no question of issuing fresh travel documents to a fugitive accused.”
Humayun Kabir said Hasina’s return could not be treated as that of an ordinary traveller because she had already been sentenced to death and faced several other ongoing legal proceedings that could carry the maximum penalty.
“Under the existing Bangladesh-India bilateral extradition treaty, we will formally request India to return Sheikh Hasina,” he said. “If she is returned, she will be taken to prison under appropriate security arrangements.”
Humayun Kabir said there was no government plan to issue Hasina with a new passport or NID, adding that her only route back to Bangladesh would be formal extradition from India.
Reuters reported on Monday that Hasina, who is staying in Delhi, had applied for a new Bangladeshi passport and NID through lawyers and legal firms. Her lawyers sent a letter to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, Reuters said, adding that it had reviewed the letter.
According to the Reuters report, the letter said Hasina’s previous Bangladeshi passport and NID had reportedly been cancelled by the post-2024 interim government and relevant authorities. The letter requested steps to issue her new documents on the basis of her Bangladeshi citizenship.
Humayun Kabir said legal notices or representation by lawyers or foreign law firms would not alter Hasina’s current legal status.
The state minister alleged that about 1,500 people were killed in six weeks during Hasina’s government and said she had continued political activities and “terrorist activities” while staying in India.
Humayun Kabir also criticised the work of foreign lawyers, solicitors and public relations firms on Hasina’s behalf. He alleged that money looted from state resources was being used to hire lawyers and lobbying firms abroad.
Referring to efforts to build support for Hasina in the United Kingdom, Kabir said a public relations firm had embarrassed British Members of Parliament by spreading incorrect information and had later been forced to withdraw. He claimed that only a few of the 650 UK MPs had supported Hasina, while most had maintained a moral position on the matter.
Reuters previously quoted Hasina as saying that she wanted to return to Bangladesh and surrender before a court.
Hasina was removed from power during the 2024 student-led mass uprising. In November last year, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death over allegations that she ordered lethal repression during the uprising.