Bangladesh resumes visa services for Indians in New Delhi

After being closed for almost two months, the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi has resumed visa services. All types of visas for Indian citizens have been issued since Friday.

According to the Indian media India Today, visa and consular services at the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi resumed normally from Friday morning. This progress was seen in the diplomatic relations of the two countries three days after the BNP-led government came to power.

The previous day, India also announced that they would resume all types of visa services for Bangladeshis soon on Thursday.

Both countries suspended visa services last December amid tensions between the two countries over the death of Inquilab Mancha leader Sharif Osman Hadi. After the news of Hadi's death while undergoing treatment in Singapore was published, two newspaper offices and Chhayanaut Bhaban were attacked on the night of December 18 in Dhaka. On the same night, protests and stone-pelting took place in front of the Indian Assistant High Commission in Chittagong.

In view of the situation, the Indian Visa Application Centre in Chittagong was suspended from December 21. The next day, the Bangladesh Mission in Delhi and Agartala announced the closure of visa and consular services as a countermeasure.

Meanwhile, after the BNP's landslide victory in the 13th parliamentary elections there were signs of a positive change in the relationship between the two countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Tarique Rahman in a statement on the morning of February 13 before the full results were announced. Later, after the results were announced, he spoke to Tarique Rahman over the phone in the afternoon and expressed his support.

Although Narendra Modi was invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, he could not attend due to his participation in the pre-scheduled 'AI Impact Summit', the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla represented India at the event instead.

Meanwhile, while exchanging views with journalists in Sylhet on Thursday, Indian Assistant High Commissioner Aniruddha Das said that all types of Indian visa processes will soon return to normal. A day after his announcement, the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi resumed visa and consular services.