In Bangladesh, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's pledged return from exile would risk triggering violent unrest and probably do little to facilitate her party's near-term political revival, but it could eventually help ease India-Bangladesh tensions. On July 13, Bangladesh's state minister for foreign affairs said the country's authorities would arrest ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should she return from her self-imposed exile in India. The official added that Hasina was a "convicted criminal" after Bangladesh's war crimes court sentenced her in November 2025 to death in absentia for her role in authorities' deadly crackdown on student-led anti-government protests in 2024, which ultimately ousted her from office in August of that year. The comments came days after Hasina, on July 10, 2026, told Reuters she plans to return to Bangladesh alongside other senior party leaders, including the former home minister, around December to surrender. While Hasina has acknowledged that she may...
