NEW DEHLI – Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down amid ongoing student protests and left for India, where her troubles only compounded, the Indian media reported on Wednesday.
The challenges facing the Awami League leader escalated as the United States revoked her visa and the United Kingdom denied her asylum request.
Indian media sources reported that upon arriving in India, Sheikh Hasina intended to proceed to London to seek political asylum or possibly consider Finland as an alternative.
It was initially expected that she would remain in a secure location in India until obtaining a British visa to apply for asylum in the UK.
However, Indian media reported that the newly elected British Prime Minister Kier Starmer refused her asylum request due to current policies.
According to the policies, asylum seekers must reside temporarily in another country where their behavior and reasons for seeking asylum are evaluated before being granted asylum in the UK. Later, the UK declined Sheikh Hasina’s asylum request.
The Indian media reported that the United States canceled Sheikh Hasina’s visa, though there has been no official statement from the US government.
A US State Department spokesperson stated in a press briefing that their government supports the people of Bangladesh.
The Modi administration, maintaining its friendly relations with Sheikh Hasina’s former government, has allowed her to stay in India until she secures political asylum elsewhere.
