Sheikh Hasina faces new challenges as US cancels visa, UK denies asylum

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned after long-running student protests and fled to India, but her troubles have only grown.


The Awami League leader’s problems have gotten worse when the United States withdrew her visa and the United Kingdom denied her refugee application.

According to Indian media, Sheikh Hasina’s next stop after arriving in India was London, where she was expected to seek political asylum or explore Finland as a destination.


It was expected that Sheikh Hasina would remain in a secure location in India until she acquired a British visa, which would allow her to ask for asylum in the UK. However, Indian media reports that the newly elected British Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, has refused to grant her asylum upon her arrival owing to the country’s laws.

Asylum applicants must first temporarily stay in another country where their conduct and reasons for seeking asylum are evaluated before being granted political asylum in the United Kingdom.

As a result, the UK has currently declined to grant Sheikh Hasina asylum.

Meanwhile, Indian media reported that the US has cancelled Sheikh Hasina’s visa. However, the US has made no formal comment on the topic.

A US State Department official stated in a news briefing yesterday that their country supports the people of Bangladesh.

The Modi administration, in order to retain its goodwill with Sheikh Hasina’s former government, has allowed her to remain in India until she can obtain political refuge in another nation.