Bangladesh seeks Sheikh Hasina’s return through legal process: Home minister
Dhaka: Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said that the government wants former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to return through “legal procedures”, following her recent remarks expressing hope of returning home “very soon” despite facing a death sentence.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Salahuddin Ahmed talking to reporters in Dhaka said, “We want to get her back through legal procedures.” He added that he was unaware of any legal barrier preventing Hasina’s return if she chose to come back.
Hasina has been living in India since August 2024 after her Awami League government was overthrown in a student-led uprising.
The interim administration headed by Muhammad Yunus later banned the Awami League through an executive order and began proceedings against Hasina in Bangladesh’s reconstituted International Crimes Tribunal.
In November 2025, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia, a ruling criticised by her supporters.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, which assumed office in February, backed the interim administration’s decision to ban the Awami League.
Ahmed’s comments came a day after Prime Minister Rahman’s information affairs adviser Zahedur Rahman said no “extra-judicial measures” would be taken against Hasina if she returned to Bangladesh.
He added that the former prime minister would have to “surrender to the judiciary” and face the ongoing legal proceedings against her.
