Bangladesh has said it will not issue a passport or any travel document to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, insisting that the only way she comes home is by being handed over by India under the two countries' extradition treaty. The remarks, made by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir in Dhaka on Thursday, November 5, come just as Hasina has repeated her plan to return to Bangladesh from exile in December.
What Dhaka Said
Kobir spoke to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after seeing off a visiting Chinese delegation. Asked whether the government would give Hasina a passport so she could travel home, he was blunt. According to The Daily Star, he asked whether she was coming to visit her in-laws in Rangpur, and said no passport is needed to arrest people the state regards as criminals.
His argument was legal as much as political. There is a judicial warrant against Hasina, an established judicial process, and an active extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India, he said, so the question of a travel pass does not arise. Dhaka, he added, would keep pursuing her return through legal and diplomatic channels.
Kobir used harsh language, calling the former prime minister a fugitive and a terrorist, and repeating the government's demand that she be handed over.
Hasina's Plan to Return in December
The comments are a direct response to Hasina's own stated plans. In an email reply to questions from The Associated Press, reported by The Business Standard, the Awami League leader said she remains committed to returning to Bangladesh next month. She first announced in August that she intended to go back in December.
Her message was defiant: if death was her destiny, she said, she would rather die on the soil of her own country among her own people, and her decision to return had not changed.
Background: From Prime Minister to Exile
Hasina ruled Bangladesh for 15 years until she was forced out by a student-led mass uprising in August 2024. She left Dhaka and has been living in India since then. A special tribunal in Bangladesh later sentenced her to death in absentia for crimes against humanity, holding her responsible for ordering the deadly crackdown on protesters during the uprising.
Since then, successive governments in Dhaka have asked New Delhi to send her back. The current government is led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who personally raised the issue with India's High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi in August.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Point | Details |
|---|---|
| Who spoke | Humaiun Kobir, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| When and where | November 5, 2026, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka |
| Dhaka's position | No passport or travel pass; return only through extradition |
| Legal basis cited | India-Bangladesh extradition treaty and a judicial warrant |
| Hasina's status | In India since August 2024; sentenced to death in absentia |
| Hasina's stated plan | Return to Bangladesh in December 2026 |
| Current Bangladesh PM | Tarique Rahman |
Where India Stands
New Delhi has kept its public comments careful. India's Ministry of External Affairs has said Bangladesh's request is being examined in line with established procedures. High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi has said in Dhaka that the process is under way and well structured, but that no one can give a timeframe because courts are involved. He has also pointed out that Hasina was still prime minister when she arrived in India, leaving India with little choice at the time.
No fresh Indian response to Kobir's latest remarks had been reported by Friday morning.
Why It Matters for India
The Hasina question is the single most sensitive issue in India-Bangladesh relations right now. Bangladesh is one of India's closest neighbours, shares a border of over 4,000 km, and is a key partner on trade, connectivity, power and security in the Northeast. How New Delhi handles the extradition request will shape its ties with the Tarique Rahman government for years.
A planned return by Hasina in December would also put India in a tricky spot. If she tries to travel without valid documents, or if Dhaka moves to arrest her the moment she lands, the issue could quickly turn from a legal file into a diplomatic flashpoint.
What Happens Next
For now, the two positions could not be further apart. Hasina says she will go home in December no matter what; Dhaka says she will only come back in custody. India, caught in the middle, says its legal process will take its own course.
All eyes will be on the next round of India-Bangladesh talks and on any word from the MEA in the coming weeks. With December barely a month away, how this standoff plays out will be one of the biggest stories in South Asian diplomacy before the year ends.
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