Sheikh Hasina seeks fresh passport, national ID for Bangladesh return amid extradition demands

New Delhi: Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has sought a fresh passport and national identity card, taking a significant step towards her proposed return to Dhaka next month.

Hasina's lawyers have written to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi seeking the issuance of fresh travel and identity documents. The letter, sent by her lawyers at London-based Matrix Chambers to the Acting High Commissioner at Bangladesh's High Commission here, requested that the documents be issued on the basis of Hasina's Bangladeshi nationality.

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Reacting to the development, Bangladesh's state minister for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir asserted on Monday that Hasina should be extradited rather than issued fresh travel documents.

Kobir described Hasina's request as "drama" and said Bangladesh does not issue passports to terrorists. He also called upon India to extradite her. "She fled the country. There is no scope now for staging a drama about returning with a new passport. If she genuinely wants to return, there is a specific legal process for that. Bangladesh and India have an extradition treaty. Let her ask the Indian government to hand her over to Bangladesh under that treaty. She can then return, surrender before the court and serve her sentence," Kobir said.

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High-level sources told ET that Kobir's repeated demands for Hasina's extradition could cast a shadow over India-Bangladesh relations. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been delaying his maiden visit to India.

Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Monday that the matter was being examined by the ministries of foreign affairs and law. Ahmed said the authorities were reviewing whether an application had actually been submitted, whether it had been filed properly, the legal basis for such an application, and whether Hasina was legally entitled to apply.