New Delhi [India], December 23 (ANI): Foreign affairs expert Sushant Sareen on Tuesday said that there is a clear threat to Indian missions in Bangladesh, hence some of their services were suspended.
On the Bangladesh High Commission temporarily suspending all visa and consular services for Indian nationals, Sareen said that the Interim government of Bangladesh cannot control the mob.
He said, “The reason why the Indian visas were being suspended, or visa services were temporarily suspended, was due to security reasons. Cops and the government in Bangladesh say that we cannot control the mob because they will turn violent. There is a clear and present security threat to Indian missions in Bangladesh, which is why some of the services were suspended.”
“Now that a similar situation does not obtain out here. I don’t think any Indian cop has said, or any Indian government or Indian authority has said, that we cannot control mobs. So the Bangladeshis said that there was a security threat to their missions; they’re being disingenuous. It’s that typical Pakistani tit-for-tat card. But for the Indians, there was a legitimate reason why there was an apprehension that was being felt, apprehension that there would be an attack on the Indian mission,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s visa operations in Delhi and Siliguri have been temporarily suspended following recent incidents, a foreign ministry official told ANI on Monday.
“In Delhi, an incident occurred in which a group of people surrounded the Bangladesh High Commission. After this event, Bangladesh expressed concerns over security. As a result, no visas are currently being issued from the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi,” the official said.
“In Siliguri, although Bangladesh does not have an official mission, visa processing was carried out through a private agency. However, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad reportedly vandalised the (private agency’s) office and issued threats. In response, the Bangladesh government has also suspended visa operations in Siliguri,” he alleged.
India on Sunday dismissed “misleading propaganda” in sections of the Bangladeshi media over a demonstration in front of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi against the “horrendous killing” of Hindu youth, and said the protest was brief and posed no security threat.
The Hindu youth was brutally killed in Mymensingh, again triggering international concern over the safety of minorities in Bangladesh. (ANI)
