Major diplomatic row erupts between New Delhi and Dhaka after IGI Airport incident involving Bangladesh PM’s Adviser

A major diplomatic row erupted between India and Pakistan after Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Adviser on Policy and Strategy Affairs, Zahed Ur Rahman, was allegedly stopped at IGI Airport in New Delhi.

According to local media reports, while Zahed was later granted clearance, he chose not to enter India and returned to Bangladesh via Colombo.

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Following the incident, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner, Pawan Badhe to register a formal protest.

Jahed Ur Rahman was travelling to New Delhi to participate in the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

It is alleged that Rahman was flagged during routine security checks due to his name appearing on a watchlist, resulting in approximately two and a half hours of questioning. While reports indicate that Indian authorities eventually cleared him to proceed, Rahman opted to return to Bangladesh on Monday rather than attend the scheduled meetings. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman described the incident as “unexpected and regrettable”.

The summons was issued to Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe, who is currently serving as the Acting High Commissioner, as the newly arrived Indian High Commissioner, Dinesh Trivedi, has yet to formally present his credentials to the President of Bangladesh.

This diplomatic friction occurs at a delicate time for bilateral relations.

Only days before the incident, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, Humayun Kabir, had emphasised the necessity of a constructive, “working relationship” between the two nations, citing the inescapable realities of geography and the shared need for regional cooperation.

“It’s good to have normal diplomatic relations, a working relationship within your neighbourhood, within the region. So India is our neighbour – they didn’t choose us, we didn’t choose them, but we are neighbours. We have to live together, we have to work together in the region and cooperate,” he told ANI.

The incident coincides with a leadership transition at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. High Commissioner-designate Dinesh Trivedi officially arrived in Bangladesh on June 12 via the Benapole land port, prepared to take over the mission from the outgoing High Commissioner, Pranay Verma.

Both nations have recently expressed a desire to deepen ties across multiple strategic sectors, making this unexpected diplomatic standoff a point of focus for observers monitoring the trajectory of India-Bangladesh relations.

(With inputs from agencies)