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Published : 15 Jun 2026, 03:19 PM
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has described the blocking of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Information and Broadcasting Advisor Zahed Ur Rahman’s travel at the immigration checkpoint at Delhi airport as "unexpected and unfortunate”.
"This is an unexpected incident, as you said, it is also unfortunate," he told reporters in response to a question at the foreign ministry on Monday.
“The [ministry] is taking appropriate measures and we’ll update you at the end of the day,” he added.
The advisor arrived at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday evening to attend a two-day meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which begins on Monday.
He was scheduled to lead the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting.
However, Indian immigration authorities reportedly kept him waiting at the airport for nearly two and a half hours. During that time, it remained unclear whether he would be granted entry into India. In the end, Zahed decided to return to Bangladesh.
According to a report by Indian news outlet News18, immigration officials questioned Zahed for an extended period before eventually allowing him entry into India. The advisor, however, declined to proceed with the visit.
He later decided to cancel the official trip and return home in protest against what he described as “discourteous treatment” and the prolonged delay.
Travelling from New Delhi to Colombo and then to Dhaka, he arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 11:30am on Monday.
When journalists at the airport sought comments on the incident in Delhi, Zahed declined to speak.
The episode comes at a time when reports suggest efforts are under way to improve relations between Bangladesh and India. Questions have since emerged over why an advisor holding the rank of a state minister had to face such an embarrassing situation during an official foreign visit.
Posts on social media have suggested that Zahed travelled to India using a regular passport and a SAARC visa rather than a diplomatic passport.
However, bdnews24.com could not independently verify that claim.
High ups in the government are normally received by protocol officers from the Bangladesh mission in the host country upon arrival. What transpired in this case remains unclear.
Questions have also been raised over whether the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi failed to coordinate the visit properly. The mission has yet to issue any statement on the matter.
Media reports, however, say that the Bangladesh High Commission had sent a diplomatic note verbale to India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Friday regarding the advisor’s official visit. Bangladesh High Commissioner M Riaz Hamidullah also reportedly spoke personally with the relevant Indian foreign ministry officials over the phone.
If that was the case, it remains unclear why the advisor faced difficulties at immigration.
News18, citing sources, reported that the complications arose because Zahed’s name remained on an Indian security watch list. Immigration officials allegedly identified him upon arrival and temporarily detained him for questioning.
The report said the incident appeared to have resulted from an administrative error. Although his name had previously been removed from a social media-related blacklist, it was reportedly not deleted from the immigration database, triggering an alert when he arrived.
After officials identified and resolved the discrepancy, he was granted permission to enter India. However, citing what he considered “inappropriate conduct” by Indian immigration authorities, the advisor requested the return of his passport and chose to return to Bangladesh abandoning the visit.
