Mohammad Mohit, Daily Dawn, London, Dawn TV
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Towhid Hossain said that the visa sections of three Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in India have been temporarily closed due to security concerns.
Talking to reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Friday, he said that he has instructed his three missions to keep the visa sections closed for the time being, as it is a matter of security. He was responding to a question on whether Bangladeshi missions in India have restricted tourist visas for Indian citizens.
Towhid Hossain did not name the missions, but according to diplomatic sources, the visa sections of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, the Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, and the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agra have been closed.
Sources said that the visa sections of the Bangladeshi missions in Chennai and Mumbai are still functioning.
There have also been protests near Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in India in the past few weeks.
After the fall of the Awami League government, the Indian High Commission had imposed restrictions on tourist visas for Bangladeshi nationals, citing security concerns.
Tohid Hussain was also asked about the expulsion of Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League, anti-Bangladesh protests in India, and the decision not to send the Bangladesh team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
He said that he fully supports the stance of Sports Advisor Asif Nazrullah that the team should not be sent to India due to security reasons and Bangladesh’s matches should be shifted to co-host Sri Lanka.
He said that we will definitely play outside India.
He added that both players and fans would have to travel to India, so the government would have to take their security into account.
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