Prime Minister’s Information Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has alleged that he was subjected to an embarrassing experience at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after being made to wait for nearly two hours by Indian immigration authorities despite carrying valid travel documents.
Speaking to Daily Waadaa, Dr Zahed said he arrived in Delhi on an Air India flight on Sunday afternoon to attend a conference related to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
He was travelling on an ordinary Bangladeshi passport with a SAARC visa and did not use any diplomatic channel upon arrival.
“I stood in the regular immigration line. After submitting my passport, I was asked to wait in the sitting area without any explanation,” he said.
According to Dr Zahed, immigration officials kept him waiting for almost two hours before informing him that he could proceed with entry formalities. By then, however, he had decided not to enter India.
“I felt embarrassed and, at one point, asked them to return my passport. Later they requested me to enter, but I refused,” he told Daily Waadaa.
Dr Zahed said Bangladesh High Commissioner to India M. Riaz Hamidullah came to the airport after learning about the situation and made several calls regarding the matter. Nevertheless, the adviser remained firm in his decision to return home.
“But I was adamant about not entering,” he said.
The incident comes at a sensitive time when reports have emerged of efforts by Bangladesh and India to improve bilateral relations.
Several Bangladeshi media outlets reported that Dr Zahed subsequently left Delhi and began his return journey to Bangladesh via a third country.
Indian media outlet CNN-News18 reported that Dr Zahed’s name had reportedly appeared on an Indian security watchlist during routine screening at the airport. According to the report, immigration authorities temporarily held him for verification before later clearing him for entry.
The report suggested that the issue may have stemmed from an administrative error, with officials eventually resolving the discrepancy and granting him permission to enter India.
Neither the Indian nor Bangladeshi authorities had issued an official statement on the incident as of Monday morning.