Harassment of Zahed Ur Rahman, information adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, at Delhi airport is an “unwarranted and regrettable” incident, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said Monday.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists at the foreign ministry in the afternoon.
“This is an unwarranted incident and also regrettable. The foreign ministry is taking appropriate action and by the end of the day we will let you know about it,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Zahed returned to Dhaka in the morning after being denied entry to Delhi. He landed in the capital’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a SriLankan Airlines flight at 11:15am.
After arrival, Zahed exited through the VIP gate but did not speak to the media.
He had travelled to the Indian capital to attend a senior officials’ meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) but was harassed by Delhi airport authorities on Sunday night, according to Bangladesh High Commission sources.
Sources confirmed Zahed was travelling on a green passport with a SAARC visa, that the immigration officials did not accept initially. He could not get back to Dhaka as there was no direct return flights.
He then went to Colombo from Delhi.
Speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh on Sunday, an Indian foreign ministry official clarified the decision to refuse entry, pointing out that while Zahed was traveling with a green passport and a SAARC sticker, he did not possess an Indian visa.
Analysts suggest that this may be interpreted as a subtle diplomatic signal discouraging new govt officials from travelling to India. They also argue that it reflects a broader indication that India’s relations with the BNP government are not currently warm, and that there may be underlying developments worth closer attention.
