Published : 09 Nov 2026, 01:53 PM
Updated : 09 Nov 2026, 01:53 PM
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s application for a new passport and national identity card (NID) has been dismissed as a “political stunt” by International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam.
Responding to journalists on Monday, he said: “These are all baseless statements and political stunts.
“Everything Sheikh Hasina is doing right now is merely posturing. She will not come back.”
Aminul added that the prosecution’s official stance on the matter will be presented on Tuesday.
Hasina, the deposed prime minister who has taken refuge in India while facing a death sentence for crimes against humanity committed during the 2024 July Uprising, applied on Monday for a new passport and NID to facilitate her return home, according to Reuters.
The application was lodged via her lawyers at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
Reuters noted that this represents Hasina’s most explicit move yet towards fulfilling her intention to return to Bangladesh, more than two years after the deadly mass uprising brought an end to her protracted rule.
She had previously indicated plans to return home in December, telling Reuters that she intended to travel back to Bangladesh and surrender before the court.
All political activities of Hasina’s party, the Awami League, are currently banned in Bangladesh. A substantial proportion of its senior leadership is either in hiding -- like Hasina, in India or third countries -- whilst many others remain behind bars.
According to Reuters, Awami League leaders said the exact date of Sheikh Hasina’s return would be confirmed once the requisite formalities had been concluded.
In November last year, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia after convicting her of ordering a lethal crackdown to suppress the student-led mass uprising. She has consistently denied the allegations from India.
