Published : 10 Nov 2026, 02:52 PM
Updated : 10 Nov 2026, 02:52 PM
Prime Minister's Information Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman has said there should be no legal obstacles preventing India from extraditing Sheikh Hasina if the former prime minister herself wants to return to Bangladesh.
Speaking at a weekly briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Zahed said the government remained committed to bringing Hasina back through formal extradition procedures.
“The Indian government should have no problem at this point because the person who is supposed to be extradited herself wants to return,” he said.
“So we no longer believe there is any legal issue.”
Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted in the July-August 2024 mass uprising, has said she intends to return to Bangladesh in December to surrender before a court.
Asked whether she had applied for a new passport or national identity card, Zahed said no application had been submitted by Hasina herself.
Reuters reported on Monday that London-based Matrix Chambers had written to Bangladesh's acting high commissioner in New Delhi, Preeti Rahman, requesting the documents on Hasina's behalf.
However, Bangladesh High Commission spokesperson Saidur Rahman said the email contained no authorisation or evidence establishing that the request had come from Hasina.
The email had been forwarded to the foreign ministry, he added.
Zahed suggested the approach through a law firm could be a tactic by the Awami League.
He also said Bangladesh had repeatedly sought Hasina's return through diplomatic channels, noting that India had acknowledged her presence in the country.
“We have formally requested her return on several occasions,” he said.
Despite his assessment that legal obstacles should no longer exist, Zahed stressed that the government would follow the established extradition process.
“She is a convicted fugitive. So we want to bring her back through the process by which we are supposed to obtain her return,” he said.
“The question for us is not simply what we want to do, but how we do it and how the process is followed.”
The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in November 2025 in a crimes against humanity case.
Bangladesh has formally requested her extradition, but India has yet to act on the request.
