Sheikh Hasina Plans Return to Bangladesh After Exile

Politics in Bangladesh is about to take a new turn. Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is planning to return. Her new plan was confirmed by a request to issue a new passport and identity card on Monday. Sheikh Hasina's lawyers have written to the acting high commissioner of the Bangladesh embassy, Preeti Rahman. In this letter, she has written that the interim government and other authorities there had cancelled her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) before she could come to Bangladesh, which would require new documents. The lawyers have written that it is therefore requested that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi passport and national identity card for our client. According to media reports, the letter indicates a return. In the letter, Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh, has requested to issue a new passport and identity card on Monday, so that he can voluntarily return to the country from his 2024 exile in India. This is the first time she has announced her plans to return to Bangladesh since 2026.