The Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma was summoned on Tuesday by Bangladesh to discuss a security lapse at the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Tripura’s Agartala. They were part of a group of protesters which broke through the mission’s security earlier this week. A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India said the incident was “deeply regrettable” and stated that measures were being strengthened to ensure the security of Bangladeshi missions in India.
‘The Indian envoy met officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka at 4 p.m. to discuss the matter,’ a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, a state run news agency, confirmed. The states of bilateral relations between the two countries were added tension since the onset of government of Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh after the exclusion of Sheik Hasina on August 5.
Trouble continued when Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Prabhu, who used to be an ISKCON member, was arrested November 25 at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. He was denied bail by a Chattogram magistrate’s court, which ordered that he be held in police custody.
India objects to targetting of religious minorities in particular Hindus in Bangladesh. The MEA called on the interim Bangladeshi government to protect minority groups and denounced an increase in extremist rhetoric and violence against Hindus.
Indian government said that it expects the interim administration to fulfil its responsibility to protect all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation, as it reiterated its expectations of the administration. Maintaining regional stability and preventing any further incidents continues to be the focus on efforts aimed at achieving mutual cooperation.
The significance of this diplomatic engagement is to maintain the India-Bangladesh relationship, historically important; by addressing security and minority protection questions.
