No terrorist will be given a passport or NID: State Minister for Foreign Affairs

Calling ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina a terrorist, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir has said Bangladesh will not provide a passport or national identity card (NID) to any terrorist. He said this on Monday (9 November) while answering journalists' questions at the foreign ministry.

He also said Bangladesh wants Sheikh Hasina returned under the existing extradition treaty with India.

The state minister said there is no question of issuing new travel documents to a fugitive accused person. Sheikh Hasina's legal initiative to obtain a passport and NID is laughable, he said. Her return to the country cannot be viewed like that of an ordinary traveller.

Sheikh Hasina has already been sentenced to death, Humayun Kabir said. In addition, several more judicial proceedings are ongoing against her, in which the maximum punishment is also possible.

Humayun Kabir said Bangladesh will formally demand her return from India under the existing bilateral extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India. If she is brought back, she will be taken to prison under proper security arrangements.

Reports have recently been published that Sheikh Hasina, staying in Delhi, has applied for a new Bangladeshi passport and NID through lawyers and a legal firm. On this, he said a legal notice or representation by any lawyer or foreign law firm will not change her current legal status.

Humayun Kabir said that during Sheikh Hasina's government, nearly 1,500 people were killed in just six weeks. Even after leaving the country and staying in India, she is continuing political activities and terrorist activities, he said.

The state minister also criticised foreign lawyers, solicitors and public relations firms working on behalf of Sheikh Hasina. He said money looted from state resources is being used to hire lawyers and lobbying firms abroad.

Raising the initiative to build public opinion in the United Kingdom in favour of Sheikh Hasina, he said a public relations firm had put British members of parliament in an embarrassing situation by spreading false information, and later they had to withdraw.

Noting that only a few of the 650 members of the UK Parliament have taken a position in favour of Sheikh Hasina, the state minister claimed that most members of parliament have maintained an ethical position on the matter.

Humayun Kabir said the government has no plan to issue a new passport or NID to Sheikh Hasina. The only way for her to return to Bangladesh will be formal extradition from India.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the truth of the reports that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has applied in Delhi to get back her passport and national identity card (NID) has not yet been verified. He said the foreign ministry and the law ministry are examining the matter.

Answering journalists' questions below the home ministry at the Secretariat on Monday (9 November), the home minister said, 'I have also heard it, I saw it on Scroll News, that fugitive convicted accused Sheikh Hasina has applied for her passport and NID. But I have not yet been able to verify its truth.'

Salahuddin Ahmed said it will be reviewed whether the application has a legal basis, whether it was made properly, and whether she has the right to apply. In this regard, the passport law, the citizenship law and the NID law will be considered. After that, the foreign ministry or the law ministry will speak on the matter.

Asked about bringing Sheikh Hasina back from India, the home minister said, 'At this moment I can say initially that we have sent a letter through our foreign ministry to the country where a convicted accused is taking shelter, under the extradition treaty, so that she is extradited in accordance with the law.'