The Bangladesh High Commission has resumed visa operations in New Delhi after nearly two months of suspension. Visa services for Indian citizens officially restarted on Friday (February 20), according to a report by India Today.
The report stated that the development came just three days after the BNP-led government assumed office, marking a positive step in bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries. Citing the Bangladesh High Commission, India Today reported that all categories of visa services for Indian nationals resumed from Friday morning.
Earlier on Thursday, India had announced that it would ‘soon’ resume all visa services for Bangladeshi citizens.
Both countries suspended visa operations in December following a deterioration in diplomatic ties after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of the Inqilab Mancha. Hadi died on December 18 while undergoing treatment in Singapore.
Following news of his death, two newspaper offices and the Chhayanaut Bhaban in Dhaka were attacked. On the same night, a group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chattogram and reportedly threw stones at the mission.
As a result, operations at the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Chattogram were suspended from December 21 until further notice. In a reciprocal move the following day, Bangladesh announced the suspension of visa and consular services at its missions in Delhi and Agartala.
Relations began to improve after the BNP’s landslide victory in the 13th parliamentary elections. On February 13, before the full election results were announced, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Tarique Rahman in a statement. Later that afternoon, following the announcement of the full results, Modi spoke with Tarique by telephone, congratulating him again and expressing support for his work.
Dhaka also invited Modi to attend the new government’s swearing-in ceremony. However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said he would be unable to attend due to the ‘AI Impact Summit.’ Instead, India was represented at the ceremony by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Meanwhile, Indian Assistant High Commissioner in Sylhet Aniruddha Das told journalists on Thursday that all types of Indian visa processing would soon return to a “normal level.” The following day, Bangladesh restored its visa and consular services in Delhi.
