Bangladesh rejects Hasina passport request as analysts question return plan

Bangladesh has rejected former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s request for a new passport as she seeks to return in December, more than two years after an uprising drove her from power. The 79-year-old, who fled to India in August 2024, faces a death sentence imposed in her absence last year for crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on student-led demonstrations. She denies the charge.

Hasina approached Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi for a passport and national identity card after her existing documents were revoked. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told Al Jazeera that Bangladesh would pursue her transfer through its extradition arrangements with India. On Tuesday, prosecutor Md Aminul Islam, who secured her conviction at the International Crimes Tribunal in Dhaka, told reporters she would face execution if she returned.

The prospect of her arrival could deepen tensions as Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government seeks to restore stability following the 2024 uprising. More than 1,400 people were killed, according to the United Nations. Hasina, who governed for nearly 20 years, retains supporters, although many Bangladeshis want her executed. Her Awami League party is banned, and many of its leaders are imprisoned or living abroad.

Analysts interviewed by Al Jazeera questioned whether the passport application signals a genuine intention to return. Zillur Rahman, president of the Dhaka-based Centre for Governance Studies, said it appeared aimed at keeping party members engaged and preserving Hasina’s leadership. He argued that her unwillingness to transfer control was limiting the party’s options. Retired US diplomat Jon F Danilowicz, formerly deputy chief of mission in Dhaka, described the promised December return as a bluff intended to rally supporters.

Faiz Sobhan, senior research director at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, similarly said the announcement could boost party morale and help Hasina assess sentiment inside Bangladesh. Some supporters have responded enthusiastically, despite uncertainty about how a return would happen. Arman Rahman, a Dhaka-based Awami League activist and former student-wing leader, told Al Jazeera he believed she would come back in December. Many party figures interviewed could offer no clear explanation of her plans.

India’s position remains central. New Delhi, a close ally of Hasina for decades, has sheltered her since she fled, while Bangladesh has repeatedly requested extradition under their bilateral treaty. India says those requests are under examination. Both governments have indicated an interest in improving strained relations, and India’s foreign ministry said in April that it wanted constructive engagement with Bangladesh’s new government.

Sreeradha Datta, an international affairs professor at O P Jindal Global University near New Delhi, said India views Hasina as a longstanding friend while seeking to separate her presence from relations with Dhaka. Danilowicz argued that hosting her carries increasing diplomatic costs, although he considered Indian assistance with her return unlikely. Zillur Rahman said abandoning Hasina could undermine other allies’ confidence in India, but continued refuge would not necessarily mean support for restoring her political position.

Analysts also saw little prospect of an agreement with the governing Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Sobhan said accommodation would risk alienating BNP supporters who endured imprisonment, harassment and exclusion under Hasina. On Monday, BNP acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi dismissed the prospect of her return to power. Sobhan said the tribunal’s verdict constrained the government’s options, leaving extradition as Dhaka’s only formal route to bring her back.