Amidst simmering tensions, India-Bangladesh consular dialogue postponed

Days after Bangladesh’s deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinarequested Dhaka for a new passport and national identity card, the fifth India-Bangladesh consular dialogue that was scheduled to take place on November 17 and 18 has been postponed, a diplomatic source has confirmed.

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The source indicated that the postponement of the dialogue was mainly on account of growing tensions in the bilateral relationship caused by Ms. Hasina’s announcement that she will return to Bangladesh next month.

The planned consular dialogue would have been the first such meeting between the two sides in more than two years. The last such dialogue was held in New Delhi on May 29, 2024, just over two months before the Hasina government fell in a youth-led uprising in Dhaka.

Visa issues on agenda

The consular dialogue was scheduled to be held in Dhaka at the level of Director Generals of the Foreign Ministries of both countries. The planned agenda included issues of border management, visa procedures, and the repatriation of citizens detained on both sides. The number of Indian visas issued was drastically reduced when tensions broke out in August 2024. According to sources, India has gradually increased the number of visas issued to travellers from Bangladesh in recent months, especially after the election of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in February this year.

The two countries started a consular dialogue in 2017 to “strengthen people-to-people contacts by having a regular channel of communication on consular, visa, and mutual legal assistance cooperation matters between India and Bangladesh.” Four rounds of consular dialogues were held during the rule of the Awami League in Dhaka. As per the Ministry of External Affairs, the fourth round held in May 2024 discussed issues like “visa matters, repatriation, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty cases etc.”

The Hasina effect

Attempts at normalising the India-Bangladesh relationship in recent months have been hindered by Ms. Hasina’s presence in India, where she took refuge on August 5, 2024. On November 9 this year, a London-based legal firm representing Ms. Hasina wrote to the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi requesting a new passport and the national ID card. “In view of the reported revocation of her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) by the Interim Government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card for our client,” said the letter sent by the law firm Matrix Chambers.

However, the Acting Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Humayun Kabir responded to this development by telling journalists that Bangladesh would not issue a passport to Ms. Hasina. Instead, he said, Dhaka would seek Ms. Hasina’s extradition under an “acceptable prisoner exchange process”, adding that such a handover would have to be conducted carefully and under proper surveillance.