Indian Foreign Secretary Misri arrives in Dhaka

The visit comes amid strained relations between the two countries since the changeover in power

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has arrived in Dhaka to attend a secretary-level meeting amid strained relations between the two countries after the changeover in the Bangladesh government.

After landing in Dhaka aboard a special flight on Monday morning, he was welcomed by Ishrat Jahan, head of the South Asia Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Misri will join the bilateral Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) with Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin at the State Guest House Padma at 11am.

The Indian foreign secretary is also expected to pay courtesy calls on Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain during the visit.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Aug 5 in the face of a student-led mass movement. The two countries have also made conflicting statements on the persecution of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.

After 15 and a half years in power, Awami League President Hasina fled the country and took refuge in India. The Indian government has said that it will provide asylum to the former prime minister on short notice, but has not said anything about her 'status'.

More than 200 cases have been filed against Hasina since her ousting. Like their party chief, many Awami League leaders are also on the run or in hiding.

The International Crimes Tribunal has also begun trying cases against Hasina and many others in her administration over charges of ‘genocide’ during the mass killings in July and August.

The interim government, led by Yunus, has also said that it is not satisfied with India's stance on the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

The government has been accusing the Indian media of presenting 'concocted', 'exaggerated' and 'distorted' information about the persecution of minorities in the country since Aug 5.

The two countries have also issued counter-statements after the arrest and imprisonment of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a Hindu priest and leader in the minority community, in a case over sedition.

There have been widespread protests in India, especially in states bordering Bangladesh, in protest against the arrest and imprisonment of Chinmoy. One such protest on Dec 2 resulted in an attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura’s Agartala.

The attack, carried out under the banner of a right-wing organisation called the Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, involved vandalism at the Bangladesh mission and the desecration of the country’s flag.

India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement calling the incident "deeply regrettable". However, the Bangladesh government said that the attack was "premeditated" and claimed the police did not take active security measures at the time of the incident.

There have been widespread protests in Bangladesh over the attack on the Bangladesh mission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma on Tuesday and formally handed over a letter of protest.

The FOC is a platform for regular discussions at the Foreign Secretary level to review various aspects of bilateral relations. The last FOC was held in Delhi in November 2023, so the upcoming meeting is being held in Dhaka.