Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted in the July uprising, has applied for a new passport and National Identity Card (NID).
He made the application on Monday (November 9) as part of his plan to return home next December, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that they have received a letter regarding Sheikh Hasina's new passport and NID application. This is her first formal contact with the relevant authorities in Bangladesh since she left Bangladesh for India in August 2024.
Lawyers from London-based law firm Matrix Chambers sent the letter to Preeti Rahman, the acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh at the Embassy in Delhi, requesting her to take necessary steps to issue a new passport and national identity card in Sheikh Hasina's name.
The letter states that the interim government and the relevant authorities have reportedly cancelled Sheikh Hasina's previous passport and national identity card. Her lawyers have requested that measures be taken to issue two new identity cards immediately, citing her rights as a citizen of Bangladesh and international human rights obligations.
However, neither the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi nor Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's spokesperson in Dhaka immediately commented on the matter.
Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student uprising in August 2024. She has been living in India since then. In November 2025, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced her to death in absentia for ordering a deadly crackdown on the movement.
Sheikh Hasina's return to the country could create new tensions in Bangladeshi politics. The activities of her party, Awami League, are currently banned. Many of its leaders and activists are in prison, while many others are in various countries, including India.
Reuters reported that Bangladesh's relationship with India has also been strained over the sheltering of Sheikh Hasina. The media believes that her initiative to return could create a new equation in the relationship between the two countries.
