Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government wants former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to return to the country through ‘legal procedures’, responding to her recent remarks expressing hope of returning to Bangladesh ‘very soon’ despite facing a death sentence handed down by a tribunal.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ahmed, a senior minister in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government, said there was no intention to prevent Hasina from coming back to Bangladesh if she chose to do so. However, he stressed that any return would have to take place within the framework of the law.
“We want to get her back through legal procedures,” Ahmed said, adding that he was not aware of any specific legal barrier that would stop the former prime minister from returning to the country voluntarily.
Sheikh Hasina has been residing in India since August 2024 after her Awami League government was overthrown following a massive student-led uprising that triggered political unrest across Bangladesh. The protests eventually led to the collapse of her administration and paved the way for an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The interim administration subsequently imposed a ban on the Awami League through an executive order and initiated legal proceedings against Hasina through Bangladesh’s reconstituted International Crimes Tribunal.
In November 2025, the tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia, a verdict that drew strong criticism from her supporters and Awami League members, who alleged political vendetta and questioned the fairness of the proceedings.
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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government, which assumed office in February under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, later endorsed the interim administration’s decision to ban the Awami League and continue the legal process initiated against the former prime minister.
Ahmed’s comments came a day after Zahedur Rahman, information affairs adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, stated that no ‘extra-judicial measures’ would be taken against Hasina if she returned to Bangladesh. He clarified that the former premier would nevertheless be required to surrender before the judiciary and face the ongoing legal cases against her.
According to reports in local media in Dhaka, several legal experts have stated that the deadline for filing an appeal against the tribunal’s verdict has already expired, potentially complicating Hasina’s legal options if she chooses to challenge the sentence.
In recent interviews given to Indian media outlets, Hasina said she hoped to return to Bangladesh ‘very soon’ and asserted that she would do so with her ‘head held high’. During the interviews, she criticised the current political leadership in Bangladesh, accusing it of undermining democratic values and allowing growing anti-India sentiment within the country.
Hasina also indicated that she intends to continue leading the Awami League while remaining in exile, signalling that she still plans to play an active role in Bangladesh’s political landscape despite the legal and political challenges surrounding her.
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