NEW DELHI: A diplomatic row erupted between India and Bangladesh on Monday after Dhaka summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe and conveyed its “deep disappointment” over an incident involving Zahed Ur Rahman, adviser on policy and strategy affairs to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
It is learnt that Zahed was stopped by immigration authorities at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport for ‘verification’ which seems to have been done in the context of some of his previous anti-India public statements.
Though the authorities subsequently granted him a ‘one-time exemption’ to enter the country, he had by then decided to abandon the visit and returned to Dhaka on a night flight via Colombo.
The incident has triggered a strong reaction in Dhaka, with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman describing it as “unexpected” and “unfortunate”.
“It is an unexpected incident, unfortunate,” Khalilur Rahman said and added that the Bangladesh government was taking appropriate steps regarding the matter.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry also summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe and handed over a formal protest note.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Shahidul Karim said that Badhe arrived at the ministry in the afternoon and was formally informed of Bangladesh’s concerns over the episode.
Zahed had travelled to New Delhi to lead a Bangladeshi delegation to the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), being hosted by India’s Ministry of External Affairs on June 15 and 16.
According to diplomatic sources, Bangladesh had formally informed India in advance about Zahed’s participate. Diplomatic sources said that Zahed was held at the airport for nearly two hours while immigration authorities carried out verification procedures.
He was eventually cleared for entry under a one-time exemption, but chose not to proceed with his visit. The adviser was travelling on a regular Bangladeshi passport and not on a diplomatic passport, it was learnt.
The development comes at a sensitive time in India-Bangladesh relations, which have witnessed occasional strains but showed the intent to repair and strengthen the ties amid political changes in Dhaka and differences over a range of bilateral and regional issues.
