The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh has taken strict action against the incident of preventing the advisor of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman Dr. Zaheed-ur-Rahman from entering Delhi.
The charge d’affairs and deputy high commissioner of the Indian embassy in Dhaka, Pawan Badhe, was summoned and protested on Monday afternoon. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh requested the Government of India to take appropriate measures at the earliest through mutual respect and understanding.
According to sources, Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe was summoned to the National Guest House Padma on Monday. There, the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh protested the incident and demanded a detailed explanation from him.
Earlier, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman described Prime Minister’s Policy and Strategy Adviser Dr. Zaheed-ur-Rehman as “unwanted and unfortunate” from Delhi airport and added that appropriate action has been taken in this regard.
“This is an unexpected incident. Unfortunate too. Ministry of External Affairs has taken appropriate action in this regard. We will post you at the end of the day.’ Within minutes of the foreign minister’s speech, the news of summoning the Indian ambassador came to light.
The 28th meeting of the Senior Officers Committee of the Indian Ocean Rim Association is being held in New Delhi. Zaheed Ur Rahman, one of the advisers of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman, represented Bangladesh in the meeting chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India on June 15. But officials of the immigration department allegedly stopped him there first. He was stuck at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for one and a half hours. After that, he got the necessary permission to enter the city.
But Zaheed no longer wanted to enter Delhi. He returned to Dhaka via Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Indian foreign ministry was formally informed in a diplomatic letter on Friday that Zaheed would represent Bangladesh at the Iora meeting and arrive on Sunday evening, Bangladeshi media outlet Prothom Alo quoted a Dhaka-based foreign ministry official as saying. High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Delhi M Riaz Hamidullah also spoke to the concerned official of the ministry over the phone. It is not clear why this situation has arisen. India has yet to comment on the matter.
Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh deteriorated during the government of Mohammad Yunus. The situation was expected to change during the tenure of Tariq Rahman. However, the incident happened in the meantime.
Political commentator Pratim Ranjan Bose said the recent developments are an indication of New Delhi’s tough stance towards Bangladesh’s BNP-led government. “India has hardened its stance for the first time since the BNP came to power in February,” he said in a post on X.