Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri has said the Bangladesh government is being “too rigid and unreasonable” in rejecting ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s request for a new passport, arguing that the Awami League leader would need a travel document whatever route she takes home.Sikri’s remarks come after Hasina’s lawyers recently wrote to Bangladesh’s acting high commissioner in New Delhi, Preeti Rahman, seeking a new passport and National Identity Card for her. The letter cited the “reported revocation” of Hasina’s existing documents.Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 after a student-led uprising against her government, has said she wants to return home this December.“Irrespective of how Sheikh Hasina returns to Bangladesh, she will need a travel document,” Sikri, who was the Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh from December 2003 to November 2006, told INDIA TODAY in an exclusive conversation. “Whether she is extradited or goes back as a normal citizen, a travel document would be mandatory.

This is exactly what she has asked for. The Bangladesh dispensation appears to be too rigid and unreasonable,” the retired diplomat said.Sikri wondered who in Dhaka was driving the hard line on Hasina. “I am not sure if this is the stand of the entire BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) or just the prime minister and his foreign affairs minister,” she said.Offering her own reading of Dhaka’s motives, Sikri remarked: “Insisting on the extradition process shows they do not want Sheikh Hasina back in Dhaka, and would be quite comfortable with a delay of two to three years.”The Bangladesh government’s public position on the matter, however, is different.

State minister for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir termed Hasina’s application as “utterly ridiculous” and said Dhaka does not issue passports to “terrorists”.Post-exit, Hasina was sentenced to death in Bangladesh after being convicted of ‘crimes against humanity’. “You do not need a passport to bring back terrorists and criminals,” Kobir said, demanding she be handed over under the extradition treaty with India.Bangladesh home minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the country’s foreign and law ministries were examining the “authenticity and legal grounds” of the application, and that a formal extradition request had already been sent to India.India has said earlier that the request is “being examined”.The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has also questioned Hasina’s request. Spokesperson Saidur Rahman reportedly said Hasina “has not applied” for a new passport or National Identity Card.

The high commission had received an email from a law firm, he said, but could not verify if it was genuine since it carried no authorisation letter or supporting documents. The email has been forwarded to the ministry of foreign affairs.According to the Awami League, Hasina intends to return in December and face the legal proceedings against her, and her application is an “important step” towards that goal.Over the past few days, following protests by garment workers demanding a wage hike, Awami League workers have organised small rallies and demonstrations in several parts of Bangladesh, especially Dhaka.

They have been accused of setting fire to two public buses on November 9 and hurling crude bombs in some places. However, the national strike that the party’s Student’s League had called for on November 10 did not have much impact.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends