More than a month after Bangladesh restricted the issuance of visas for Indian nationals, Dhaka resumed the services at all its missions in the country on Friday, reported The Daily Star.
“We have resumed issuing visas of all categories on a limited scale since Friday and will expand the service from the coming week,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
On December 22, Bangladesh temporarily suspended visa issuance and consular services at its High Commission in New Delhi, the Assistant High Commission in Agartala, and the visa centre in Siliguri. Consular services were also halted at the mission in Guwahati.
Dhaka extended the curbs to its Deputy High Commissions in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai on January 8, citing security concerns. Issuance of all categories of visas except business and employment visas to Indian nationals had been suspended.
The resumption of the services came days after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government headed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took charge in the country, following a landslide victory in the February 12 elections.
This was the first national election in Bangladesh since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in August 2024. Her ouster came after several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.
Ties between New Delhi and Dhaka had been strained since Hasina fled to India after her ouster.
India had imposed restrictions on visas for Bangladeshi citizens after August 5, 2024, citing security concerns.
The relations between India and Bangladesh strained further in December amid unrest following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi on December 18. Hadi had been a prominent figure in the July 2024 protests.
His death triggered protests, vandalism and attacks in Bangladesh. Several attacks on minority communities have also been reported in Bangladesh, which led to demonstrations in India as well.
In December, New Delhi and Dhaka had summoned each other’s envoys to convey concerns over the situation.
However, after the BNP swept the elections in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first global leaders to congratulate Rahman on his party’s victory. In a social media post, he “reaffirmed India’s continued commitment to the peace, progress and prosperity of both our peoples”.
In response, the BNP said it was looking forward to “engaging constructively” with New Delhi to advance the bilateral relationship.
According to India’s Bureau of Immigration, 2.12 million Bangladeshi tourists visited India in 2023, while 1.29 million had travelled as of August 2024. The numbers declined during and after the July 2024 protests.
Also read: Three steps New Delhi and Dhaka must take to reset their relationship
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