Delhi airport incident on Dr. Zahed is unexpected: Shama

A disagreement has started between Bangladesh and India. A top Bangladeshi official cancelled his official visit to India after border guards kept him waiting at the airport for a long time. Bangladesh is unhappy about the situation and has called in an Indian representative to complain.

Zahed Ur Rahman is Bangladesh’s Information Adviser. He arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday evening. He was there to lead his team at a major two-day meeting. However, instead of going to the meeting, Indian airport workers stopped him. They made him wait for more than two hours.

When the officials finally told him he could enter the country, the adviser refused. He felt the long wait was very rude. He asked for his passport back and flew straight home to Dhaka on Monday morning.

Bangladesh acted quickly. Shama Obaed Islam, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, spoke to reporters on Monday. She called the event “unexpected” and “unpleasant.”

“Our ministry is looking into the matter,” she said. “Once we find out exactly what happened, we will take action if we need to.”

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman also confirmed that Bangladesh had called in Pawan Kumar Badhe, India’s Acting High Commissioner. They made a formal complaint about how the adviser was treated.

Why did this incident happen? News reports say it was likely a computer mistake. Zahed’s name used to be on an Indian security watch list. Even though his name was recently removed, the airport’s computer system was never updated. The discrepancy caused an alarm to go off when he arrived.

The adviser’s travel documents made the problem slightly worse. He was travelling with a normal green passport. Most top officials travel with a special red diplomatic passport, which helps them get through airport security much faster.

People in Dhaka are now asking why the Bangladesh office in New Delhi did not stop the incident from happening. The office had already sent a formal note to India to tell them the adviser was coming. Even so, the warning did not stop the delay at the airport.

This event comes at a sensitive time, as both countries have been trying to build a better relationship. While it seems the delay was just a computer error, both governments will need to talk it through to keep things friendly.