New Delhi has reportedly placed two firm conditions before Dhaka regarding the potential return of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has declared her intention to return home in December 2026. Having lived in India since fleeing the mass uprising on August 5, 2024, Hasina’s status remains the most sensitive flashpoint between India and the current Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. According to a BBC Bangla report, India has communicated clear security and legal prerequisites to ensure her repatriation does not turn into a summary execution.
India’s Two Conditions for Dhaka
- Direct Military Responsibility and Safe Transit: India’s primary condition is that the Bangladesh Army must take direct operational responsibility for Sheikh Hasina’s return. Just as she arrived in New Delhi aboard a Bangladesh military aircraft in August 2024, India wants Dhaka to dispatch a military aircraft to transport her back safely. Alternatively, Indian authorities have proposed a formal handover to Bangladesh Army personnel at a designated land border checkpoint. Despite strained political relations, military-to-military communication channels remain active—underscored by Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi’s unscheduled meeting with Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth in October 2026 to coordinate security protocols.
- Legal Guarantee for Appeal and a Fresh Trial: In November 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Hasina to death in absentia over the July 2024 crackdown. New Delhi’s second condition requires Dhaka to formally guarantee Hasina the legal right to appeal her death sentence and undergo a fresh, fair, and transparent trial under international and media scrutiny, rather than facing immediate execution.
Latest Diplomatic Developments and Dhaka’s Stance
- Passport Rejection and Consular Talks Postponed: Earlier this month, Hasina applied for a fresh passport and national ID at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, which Dhaka rejected. On November 13, 2026, Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the upcoming India-Bangladesh consular dialogue had been postponed to a mutually convenient date, though he declined to comment directly on the BBC Bangla report.
- Dhaka’s Hardline Response: While Dhaka continues to press for Hasina’s extradition under the 2013 bilateral treaty—which New Delhi maintains is strictly a judicial matter—Bangladeshi officials and tribunal prosecutors have dismissed her return plans as a political stunt, warning she faces immediate arrest and execution of her sentence.
- Broader Geopolitical Shifts: With Dhaka’s growing strategic and defense alignment with China, Western envoys from the US, UK, and EU have stepped up diplomatic coordination with India in Dhaka. Simultaneously, the 1996 Ganga Water Sharing Treaty is set to expire on December 12, 2026, adding further urgency to bilateral negotiations
https://www.daily-sun.com/world/908813/us-ambassador-meets-indian-high-commissioner-trivedi
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