India on Tuesday acknowledged that Prime Minister’s Adviser on Policy and Strategy Affairs Dr Zahed Ur Rahman was queried by immigration officials at Delhi airport and subsequently permitted entry after reconfirming that the purpose of his visit was to attend a multilateral meeting.
“He, however, chose to return to Dhaka on his own volition,” official spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal told reporters during a regular media briefing in New Delhi.
Jaiswal said the Adviser arrived in India on June 14 on a ‘private passport’ with a SAARC visa to attend the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India hosted the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association on June 15-16 in New Delhi.
The meeting brought together senior government officials from IORA Member States to review progress, discuss regional priorities, and advance cooperation across the Indian Ocean region under the theme of Innovation, Openness, Resilience & Adaptability.
On June 16, Adviser Dr Zahed said he decided to return home from New Delhi as an instant protest, stressing that this is a government with an overwhelming majority and popular mandate, not the Sheikh Hasina government.
“I did not go there as an individual; I went as a representative of the government. Therefore, what happened to me there required an instant protest…. just to give a message that I was maltreated and was not treated appropriately. That is why I decided to return,” he told reporters at a press conference at the Press Information Department (PID) conference room at the Secretariat.
He said that after a certain point, the Indian authorities made repeated efforts sincerely to persuade him to enter the country and continue with his scheduled engagements.
“As the Prime Minister’s adviser, I felt that there should be a clear signature or position from the state or the government regarding the incident,” he added.