NCP slams Hasina’s application

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s reported application for a new passport and National Identity (NID) card has drawn sharp reactions from National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, with both raising the issue of her political accountability and the verdict against her.

In a Facebook post on Monday, NCP convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid wrote: “Execute the death sentence of the murderer Hasina; put the ‘fascist league’ on trial.”

Asif, a former adviser to the interim government and senior joint member-secretary of the NCP, remarked on his Facebook profile: “If the ‘boat’ hadn’t sunk today, there would have been no need for a passport!”
According to a letter reviewed by Reuters on Monday, Hasina’s legal representatives have applied to the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi for a new passport and NID card. The application marks the first formal communication between Hasina and the Bangladeshi authorities since she left the country in 2024.

The letter was sent to Priti Rahman, acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh in New Delhi, by lawyers from the London-based legal firm Matrix Chambers.

The lawyers wrote that they had learned that the interim government and the relevant authorities had cancelled Hasina’s previous passport and NID card. They therefore requested new documents and urged the authorities to process the application expeditiously, citing her citizenship rights under international human rights instruments.

Hasina has been residing in India for more than two years following her departure from Bangladesh in August 2024. Her application for fresh identity and travel documents has renewed debate over her possible return, citizenship rights and the legal implications of her continued stay abroad.