Bangladesh PM's aide returns from Delhi airport without entering country
What's the story
Zahed Ur Rahman, an advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, was briefly stopped at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Sunday. CNN-News18 reported that Zahed was "briefly stopped" as his name appeared on a security-related watchlist. He was stopped for over two hours before being cleared for entry into India. However, he chose to return to Dhaka via Colombo instead of entering the country after the "unpleasant incident," Bangladesh media reported.
Unfulfilled itinerary
Rahman was to attend IORA meeting in Delhi
This incident is the first of its kind involving a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, which came to power recently. Rahman had arrived to attend the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The meeting is being hosted by India's Ministry of External Affairs on June 15 and 16. Bangladesh's High Commission in New Delhi had formally informed MEA regarding Zahed's participation in the meeting, according to Prothom Alo.
Security concerns
His name appeared on 'security-related watchlist'
Bangladesh High Commissioner M Riaz Hamidullah had also spoken to Indian officials concerned before the visit. Despite these communications, Zahed was reportedly stopped during immigration checks and kept waiting for over two hours "without...clear explanation being conveyed immediately." "After intervention, the immigration authorities allowed his entry, but the adviser decided to return home," a source in New Delhi told The Daily Star. He was traveling on a regular green passport with a SAARC sticker instead of a diplomatic passport.
Political implications
He went back at 1:00am
According to the online edition of the Daily Samakal, he chose to return to Bangladesh via Colombo directly from Delhi airport because there were no direct flights to Dhaka. The advisor was on his way back to his country around 1:00am. According to the report, he refused to enter India since the Indian immigration officers acted inappropriately. Zahed is a prominent figure in the new Bangladesh administration and was part of the election reform commission under Muhammad Yunus's interim government.