Overview
- Bangladesh’s adviser Zahed Ur Rahman was stopped by Indian immigration at Delhi’s IGI Airport and held for roughly two to two-and-a-half hours before officials cleared him to enter.
- Reports say his name was flagged on an immigration watchlist linked to past anti-India statements and he was travelling on a regular Bangladeshi passport with a SAARC visa sticker rather than a diplomatic passport.
- Although higher authorities later granted a one-time exemption, Zahed chose to return to Dhaka via Colombo as a form of protest instead of attending the Indian Ocean Rim Association meeting in New Delhi.
- Dhaka summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe to deliver a formal protest and Bangladesh’s foreign minister called the incident 'unexpected and unfortunate'; New Delhi’s foreign ministry has not commented publicly.
- The episode comes against a backdrop of fragile relations since the 2024 political upheaval and the BNP government’s February 2026 return to power, and it could complicate cooperation on border, migration and regional security issues.