MEA summons Bangladesh high commissioner over security of Indian mission in Dhaka

INdia on midweek summoned bangla desh heights commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and registered a dissent o'er the deteriorating security environment in the neighbouring country and plans by extremist elements that could affect the security of the Indian mission in Dhaka.The development marked yet another low point in bilateral relations, which have been strained since former premier Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in the face of widespread student-led protests and a caretaker administration led by Muhammad Yunus assumed office in August 2024. Over the past few days, certain extremist forces have planned protests around the Indian high commission in Dhaka, people familiar with the matter said.Hamidullah was summoned by joint secretary B Shyam, who heads the Bangladesh-Myanmar division of the external affairs ministry and served a demarche or formal diplomatic representation, the people said on condition of anonymity.“We expect the interim government to ensure the safety of missions and posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” the external affairs ministry said in a readout. It noted that Hamidullah was informed of India’s “strong concerns at the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh” and the “activities of some extremist elements who have announced plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka”.India backs peace and stability in Bangladesh and has “consistently called for free, fair, inclusive and credible elections, conducted in a peaceful atmosphere”, the readout added.The people cited above said one of the triggers for the summoning of the Bangladeshi envoy was a fiery speech on Monday by National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah, who contended that Bangladesh can shelter separatist forces from India and sever the seven northeastern states – also known as the “seven sisters – from the rest of the country.Abdullah, one of the key student leaders who led the protests against Hasina, was speaking at an event organised in Dhaka by Inqilab Mancha, the party whose leader Sharif Osman Hadi is in a critical condition after being shot by unidentified gunmen on December 12. Bangladeshi authorities and other NCP leaders such as Nahid Islam have obliquely hinted at an Indian connection to the attempt on Hadi’s life without giving any proof, and the accusation was repeated by Abdullah.“Those creating chaos and terror in our country, those who tried to kill Hadi, those who are trying to disrupt the election, those who are trying to create instability in the country, those who kill our brothers and sisters on the border, they are being given refuge and support by India,” Abdullah said in his speech on Monday.“I want to clearly tell India that those who don’t believe in the sovereignty and existence of my country, in voting rights and human rights, since you are giving refuge and support to these forces, we will give refuge and support to the separatist forces in India and sever the seven sisters from India,” he said.In an apparent reference to the remarks of Abdullah and other Bangladeshi leaders, the external affairs ministry’s readout rejected the “false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding certain recent events in Bangladesh”. The “interim government has neither conducted a thorough investigation nor shared meaningful evidence with India regarding the incidents”, the readout said.Past Bangladeshi governments had supported or turned a blind eye to the activities of several militant groups from India's northeast that operated training camps in the neighbouring country in the 1980s and 1990s. Hasina played a decisive role as the PM in cracking down on these groups and their leaders.“India has close and friendly relations with the people of Bangladesh rooted in the liberation struggle, and strengthened through various developmental and people-to-people initiatives,” the readout said.Bangladesh’s foreign ministry had earlier said India should prevent the “escape to India of the suspects” involved in the attempted assassination of Hadi and “ensure their immediate apprehension and extradition” if they enter Indian territory. The external affairs ministry responded to this by saying that India has never allowed its territory to be used for “activities inimical to the interests” of Bangladesh.India-Bangladesh relations have cratered since last year, with New Delhi repeatedly criticising the caretaker administration for failing to tackle the oppression of Bangladesh’s minorities, including Hindus. It has also criticised the interim government’s failure to tackle the re-emergence of radical and extremist forces in Bangladesh.