Sheikh Hasina applies for new passport and national ID card
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has applied for a new passport and a national identity card (NID), the Reuters news agency has reported. It is the first time since she left Bangladesh in 2024 that such an application has been made on her behalf to a Bangladeshi embassy.
Her lawyers have written to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, asking it to make the necessary arrangements to issue her a new passport and NID. According to the letter, which Reuters has seen, her lawyers said her previous passport and NID had been cancelled.
The lawyers also urged that both applications be settled quickly. The report said the application was sent to the Bangladesh embassy in India through London-based lawyers.
The report described the application as part of preparations for her return to the country. No formal statement has yet come from the embassy or the authorities concerned about the application.
The home minister has said the legal basis of Sheikh Hasina's passport application will be examined. The legal aspects of the application are being verified, according to reports.
Questions over Sheikh Hasina's passport and identity documents had been raised repeatedly since she left Bangladesh in 2024. This application marks a new development in that context.
The lawyers' letter noted that her previous passport and NID had been cancelled, underlining the need for the two documents to be issued afresh.
According to the home minister, the next steps will be decided after the legal basis of the application is examined. The future of the two applications now depends on the embassy's response and the government's review.
