Bangladesh summons India’s Deputy High Commissioner after PM’s advisor stopped at Delhi airport: ‘Deep disappointment’

An incident involving a senior Bangladeshi adviser of the Prime Minister at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport prompted Bangladesh to summon India’s Deputy High Commissioner Pawan Badhe on Monday and express its “deep disappointment”, according to media reports.

The state-run BSS news agency reported that Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Policy and Strategy Affairs and Information and Broadcasting, was stopped by immigration officials on Sunday evening after his name reportedly came up during a routine security screening.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shahidul Karim said Badhe visited the ministry on Monday afternoon, where he was presented with a formal letter of protest. Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman said the government was addressing the issue and taking the necessary measures in response.

“It is an unexpected incident, unfortunate, too,” he mentioned.

Quoting diplomatic sources, the Prothom Alo newspaper reported that Rahman, who had travelled to India to participate in the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, was questioned by immigration officials and made to wait for around two-and-a-half hours after his name was flagged during a security screening.

According to BSS, citing sources, Indian authorities subsequently cleared him to continue his visit. However, he chose to cut short the trip and return to Bangladesh.

Rahman on a regular passport than diplomatic one?

Rahman, Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Adviser on Policy and Strategy Affairs, has previously made several statements critical of India, particularly through his YouTube channel, “Zahed’s Take”, which has been blocked in India, reported Hindustan Times citing sources, who further said this was the reason his name had been placed on a watchlist.

“He was held by immigration for verification, given his previous statements on India. He was given a one-time exemption to enter India and cleared, by which time he had decided to return to Bangladesh by another flight,” the source stated.

A second person familiar with the matter noted that issuing a visa is a sovereign prerogative of a country rather than an entitlement, the report noted.

The person added that Zahed Ur Rahman travelled on a regular passport, not a diplomatic one, and did not apply separately for an Indian visa. Instead, he entered using a SAARC visa issued by Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry, a development that was reportedly not communicated to the Indian authorities in advance.

Meanwhile, Rahman termed the incident as “unexpected” and “unfortunate” and informed journalists in Dhaka that the government was taking necessary measures to address the matter.

He is widely recognised as a political commentator and has been a vocal critic of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her administration. He was appointed to the post on February 17, 2026, under the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.