Bangladesh’s interim government revoked the diplomatic passport of ousted Prime Minister Hasina Wajid on Thursday after she fled the country following a student-led uprising earlier this month.
The interior ministry announced that the diplomatic passports of Hasina, along with those of former government ministers and ex-lawmakers who are no longer in office, “must be revoked.”
Over 450 people were killed—many by police gunfire—during the weeks leading up to Hasina’s ouster, as protesters stormed her official residence in Dhaka.
A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday to evaluate 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 virtue of their positions,” the ministry stated. “If they have been removed or retired from their posts, their diplomatic passports, as well as those of their spouses, must be revoked.”
Hasina’s government faced accusations of widespread abuses, including mass detentions and extrajudicial killings of political opponents.
The new authorities in Dhaka indicated that Hasina and other former top officials could apply for standard passports, but issuance of those documents would be subject to approval.
“When the aforementioned individuals apply for ordinary passports, their applications must be cleared by two security agencies before the passports can 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 expressed support for Bangladesh’s new leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is heading the caretaker administration. Yunus has stated that his administration would “provide whatever support” UN investigators require.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
