Bangladesh cancels diplomatic passport of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

• The decision follows a student-led uprising that resulted in over 450 deaths.
• Hasina and other former top officials can apply for standard passports, but issuance depends on approval.
• Hasina, who fled to India, was a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Bangladesh’s interim government revoked the diplomatic passport of ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Thursday after she fled during a student-led uprising earlier this month. The interior ministry announced that Hasina’s passport, along with those of former government ministers and ex-lawmakers who are no longer in office, “must be revoked.”

More than 450 people were killed — many by police gunfire — in the weeks leading up to Hasina’s ouster, as crowds stormed her official residence in Dhaka. A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to determine whether to investigate alleged human rights violations committed during the protests that ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.

“The former prime minister, her advisers, the former cabinet, and all members of the dissolved national assembly were eligible for diplomatic passports by the positions they held,” the ministry said in a statement.

“If they have been removed or retired from their posts, their and their spouses’ diplomatic passports have to be revoked.”

Hasina’s government faced accusations of widespread abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of political opponents. Dhaka’s new authorities stated that Hasina and other former top officials from her tenure could apply for standard passports, but issuance would depend on approval.

“When the aforementioned people apply afresh for ordinary passports, two security agencies have to clear their application for their passports to be issued,” the ministry added.

Hasina, who fled to India, was a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu-nationalist government favored her over rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. While India is hosting Hasina, Modi has also extended his support to the new Bangladeshi leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who now leads the caretaker administration. Yunus has stated that his administration will “provide whatever support” UN investigators need.

Also Read

Bangladesh capital sees police return after strike ends

The police faced resentment for leading a lethal crackdown on protests. The...