While Sheikh Hasina’s daughter lives in Delhi, Modi government worries about diplomatic fallout of her continued stay
Twenty-four hours after ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka and landed at Delhi’s Hindon base, it is still unclear where her final destination will be, as sources confirmed that the United Kingdom is “unlikely” to accept her request for asylum. Meanwhile, it is understood that Ms. Hasina, who had to leave Bangladesh at very short notice is discussing options with other countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, apart from those where her immediate family resides: U.S., U.K, Finland and India.
According to officials, Ms. Hasina, who is travelling with her sister Sheikh Rehana Siddiq, is at a “safe house” pending a final decision.
In the interim, UK government officials pointed to Immigration law under which “there is no provision” for those outside the UK to claim asylum or temporary refuge. “Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach (in this case, India)- that is the fastest route to safety.” Officials declined to comment on whether Ms. Hasina has also applied for a regular visa to the UK.
The former Bangladesh PM had formally requested for permission to travel to the United Kingdom shortly after landing in Delhi, in the hope that she could fly directly on board the Bangladesh Airforce plane that brought her to Delhi, on to London. Sheikh Rehana holds a UK passport under Bangladesh’s dual citizenship laws, and her daughter Tulip Siddiq is the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate (North London), and is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister.
However, those hopes were dimmed a few hours later when U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a statement on the situation in Bangladesh which made no mention of Ms. Hasina or her request. In addition, he said that the “people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks”, indicating that the Starmer government could even push for an international enquiry into Ms. Hasina’s actions, despite Ms. Siddiq’s position. According to officials who could not be named, the UK government is worried about pressure from the rival BNP party loyalists who are influential there, as well as concerns that Ms. Hasina could be accused of Human Rights violations. In the past however, UK has allowed a slew of Pakistani leaders in exile, including Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto as well as the BNP’s Tariq Rehman to live there.
In Europe, Ms. Hasina’s next option would be to travel to Helsinki where Ms. Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq “Bobby” lives, and married a Finnish national. Mr. Siddiq was a “youth activist” in Bangladesh who edited a magazine, heading the Centre for Research & Information (CRI) and Young Bangla NGOs, and was frequently involved in government campaigns there. On a much-criticised trip to the UNGA in New York in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, Ms. Hasina had made a stopover in Helsinki, ostensibly to spend time with her nephew there. The Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s office did not respond to a request for comment on a possible request from Ms. Hasina however.
Ms. Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed “Joy” lives in the U.S. state of Virginia along with his wife, an American lawyer. While he worked as a Digital Advisor to the Bangladesh government for years, Mr. Wazed came under fire for sparking prosecutions of Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has now been named a key figure in the interim government, and Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam. Ms. Hasina’s relationship with the Biden administration has been tense, especially after its May 2023 special visa policy to support “free and fair elections in Bangladesh” that led to sanctions against officials believed to be subverting the process. The US State department was very critical of the January 2024 elections as well, and in May this year, PM Hasina had, in veiled comments, accused a “western government” of trying to set up a military base in Bangladesh by force. Officials said they weren’t aware if Ms. Hasina had applied for a US visa after fleeing Bangladesh, but confirmed that her present visa on her official passport would be “no longer valid” as she had resigned from her post.
Ms. Hasina’s stay would perhaps be most awkward for New Delhi itself, despite historical relations through Bangladesh’s independence struggle and after, and the Modi government’s close ties with PM Hasina’s government for the past decade, said government sources. Ms. Hasina’s daughter lives in Delhi, as the regional director of the World Health Organisation, a post that the MEA worked closely with Ms. Hasina’s office to win a contest with the Nepali candidate. Even so, as New Delhi seeks to engage the new establishment in Dhaka and continue its strategic, trade and connectivity partnerships, the ousted PM’s presence here would be difficult to explain, especially if the interim government or a new dispensation demands her extradition to stand charges in Bangladesh. For similar reasons, the Modi government did not accept requests from former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, or senior members of the Ashraf Ghani government when they fled their respective countries. In addition, Ms. Hasina’s presence in India could lead to requests from more of her supporters from Bangladesh for asylum and give rise to suspicions that India is interfering in Bangladeshi politics. Pending an acceptance for Ms. Hasina in one of the other countries she hopes to travel to, however New Delhi will host the Bangladeshi leader, as it did when she was last in exile, after the murder of her father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, her mother and nearly all other members of her family, in 1975. Read Comments 2READ LATERPRINT
Sheikh Hasina looks at UAE, Saudi for asylum
While Sheikh Hasina’s daughter lives in Delhi, Modi government worries about diplomatic fallout of her continued stay
Twenty-four hours after ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka and landed at Delhi’s Hindon base, it is still unclear where her final destination will be, as sources confirmed that the United Kingdom is “unlikely” to accept her request for asylum. Meanwhile, it is understood that Ms. Hasina, who had to leave Bangladesh at very short notice is discussing options with other countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, apart from those where her immediate family resides: U.S., U.K, Finland and India.
According to officials, Ms. Hasina, who is travelling with her sister Sheikh Rehana Siddiq, is at a “safe house” pending a final decision.
In the interim, UK government officials pointed to Immigration law under which “there is no provision” for those outside the UK to claim asylum or temporary refuge. “Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach (in this case, India)- that is the fastest route to safety.” Officials declined to comment on whether Ms. Hasina has also applied for a regular visa to the UK.
The former Bangladesh PM had formally requested for permission to travel to the United Kingdom shortly after landing in Delhi, in the hope that she could fly directly on board the Bangladesh Airforce plane that brought her to Delhi, on to London. Sheikh Rehana holds a UK passport under Bangladesh’s dual citizenship laws, and her daughter Tulip Siddiq is the sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate (North London), and is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister.
However, those hopes were dimmed a few hours later when U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a statement on the situation in Bangladesh which made no mention of Ms. Hasina or her request. In addition, he said that the “people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks”, indicating that the Starmer government could even push for an international enquiry into Ms. Hasina’s actions, despite Ms. Siddiq’s position. According to officials who could not be named, the UK government is worried about pressure from the rival BNP party loyalists who are influential there, as well as concerns that Ms. Hasina could be accused of Human Rights violations. In the past however, UK has allowed a slew of Pakistani leaders in exile, including Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto as well as the BNP’s Tariq Rehman to live there.
In Europe, Ms. Hasina’s next option would be to travel to Helsinki where Ms. Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq “Bobby” lives, and married a Finnish national. Mr. Siddiq was a “youth activist” in Bangladesh who edited a magazine, heading the Centre for Research & Information (CRI) and Young Bangla NGOs, and was frequently involved in government campaigns there. On a much-criticised trip to the UNGA in New York in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, Ms. Hasina had made a stopover in Helsinki, ostensibly to spend time with her nephew there. The Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s office did not respond to a request for comment on a possible request from Ms. Hasina however.
Ms. Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed “Joy” lives in the U.S. state of Virginia along with his wife, an American lawyer. While he worked as a Digital Advisor to the Bangladesh government for years, Mr. Wazed came under fire for sparking prosecutions of Grameen Bank founder and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who has now been named a key figure in the interim government, and Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam. Ms. Hasina’s relationship with the Biden administration has been tense, especially after its May 2023 special visa policy to support “free and fair elections in Bangladesh” that led to sanctions against officials believed to be subverting the process. The US State department was very critical of the January 2024 elections as well, and in May this year, PM Hasina had, in veiled comments, accused a “western government” of trying to set up a military base in Bangladesh by force. Officials said they weren’t aware if Ms. Hasina had applied for a US visa after fleeing Bangladesh, but confirmed that her present visa on her official passport would be “no longer valid” as she had resigned from her post.
Ms. Hasina’s stay would perhaps be most awkward for New Delhi itself, despite historical relations through Bangladesh’s independence struggle and after, and the Modi government’s close ties with PM Hasina’s government for the past decade, said government sources. Ms. Hasina’s daughter lives in Delhi, as the regional director of the World Health Organisation, a post that the MEA worked closely with Ms. Hasina’s office to win a contest with the Nepali candidate. Even so, as New Delhi seeks to engage the new establishment in Dhaka and continue its strategic, trade and connectivity partnerships, the ousted PM’s presence here would be difficult to explain, especially if the interim government or a new dispensation demands her extradition to stand charges in Bangladesh. For similar reasons, the Modi government did not accept requests from former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, or senior members of the Ashraf Ghani government when they fled their respective countries. In addition, Ms. Hasina’s presence in India could lead to requests from more of her supporters from Bangladesh for asylum and give rise to suspicions that India is interfering in Bangladeshi politics. Pending an acceptance for Ms. Hasina in one of the other countries she hopes to travel to, however New Delhi will host the Bangladeshi leader, as it did when she was last in exile, after the murder of her father and Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, her mother and nearly all other members of her family, in 1975. Read Comments 2READ LATERPRINT
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