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Bangladesh has summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka after a senior adviser to the Prime Minister was detained for around two and a half hours for questioning at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, aide to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, was stopped by immigration authorities on Sunday evening after his name was reportedly flagged during a routine security check, BSS news agency reported. He was travelling to India to attend the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) CSO Meeting.
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While other members of the delegation cleared immigration without difficulty, Rahman remained stuck at the checkpoint, Bangladesh media reported, citing sources.
Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, was present at the airport and identified Rahman to immigration authorities. Indian officials had also been informed in advance about his role as head of the Bangladeshi delegation, the report added.
After waiting for over two and a half hours, Rahman decided not to proceed with his scheduled visit and informed officials that he would return to Dhaka, BSS reported. Although Indian officials later said the issue could be resolved and asked him to continue his travel, he decided not to enter India. He travelled via Colombo and returned home.
He was travelling on a normal Bangladeshi passport with a SAARC visa sticker and did not have a diplomatic passport, so he had to go through regular immigration checks. Reports say the delay happened after his name showed up on a security watchlist during routine screening, possibly because of a technical or database error.
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Bangladesh’s ministry of foreign affairs called in India’s deputy high commissioner Pawan Badhe and conveyed “deep disappointment” over what happened. This was Dhaka’s first official response. Foreign minister Dr Khalilur Rahman called the situation “unexpected and unfortunate” and said the government was taking the matter seriously, as per the BSS news agency.
Zahed ur Rahman, a doctor-turned-policy adviser and a well-known public commentator, recently joined the government as an adviser with the rank of state minister. He was supposed to lead Bangladesh’s delegation at the IORA meeting (June 15-16) in New Delhi. The rest of the Bangladeshi delegation attended the meeting as planned.
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