The former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she plans to return to Bangladesh by December, despite the legal proceedings against her and the extradition request made by Dhaka to India.
Hasina has been staying in India since she left Bangladesh in August 2024 following a wave of public protests that brought to a close her government. She has repeatedly said she wants to return but now thinks her return is an extradition issue.
“I want to go back on my own to my country,” Hasina said, saying she does not want to stay outside Bangladesh forever.
And she also said she wasn’t motivated by political ambition to return because she had no desire to return. She said that her return to Bangladesh was a matter of her responsibility to the people of Bangladesh.
The former prime minister has faced a lot of legal challenges in Bangladesh. She is now on death sentence for the crackdown on protesters arrested during the 2024 political unrest. Hasina has said she will face that if she returns to Bangladesh.
Her statement has again brought the extradition issue between India and Bangladesh into focus. Bangladesh has asked Hasina to be extradited from India, while New Delhi has maintained that the matter is being studied through the appropriate legal process.
Hasina’s possible return is closely connected to Bangladesh’s political situation. Since her departure the country has witnessed a great deal of political change, and her Awami League party is under restrictions and political uncertainty.
In her view, the Awami League must have a place in the country's democratic political system.
And her December return would have significant political and diplomatic implications. If she does return, she might face immediate legal action because of the cases and conviction against her.
It is not clear whether Hasina will ever make it back to Bangladesh on her stated timeline. Her decision will depend on legal developments, political situation in Bangladesh and what the Indian government has to do.
It remains, however, that her new comments emphasize one thing: despite still living in India, Sheikh Hasina maintains that she intends to go back to Bangladesh, and is questioning the need to frame that return as only an extradition matter.
