Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina requested a new passport on Monday to facilitate her return from exile two years after she was ousted in a mass uprising.

The government has been seeking her extradition from India and earlier dismissed suggestions she needed new identification documents to return home.

Ms Hasina told The Associated Press in an interview this month that she would return to Bangladesh in December at any cost.

In a letter seen by The Associated Press that was emailed to Bangladesh's top diplomat in London, a counsel of Ms Hasina urged the diplomat to take necessary action to provide her a passport and national identity card.

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina takes oath as the country's Prime Minister at the Bangabhaban in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo (Reuters)

“This is a significant step toward her homecoming.…