PM’s adviser Zahed returns home cancelling state visit to Delhi

Prime Minister's Policy and Strategy Affairs Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has returned to Dhaka via Colombo, who was denied entry into Delhi by Indian immigration authorities.

He landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka around 11:30AM.

Dr Zahed had gone to the Indian capital to attend a senior officials' meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA),  scheduled for June 15 and 16 hosted by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, but was denied entry by Delhi airport authorities on Sunday night, according to Bangladesh High Commission sources.

Despite prior notification through diplomatic channels, Indian immigration authorities prevented Zahed Ur Rahman from entering Delhi on Sunday evening for what diplomatic sources described as 'mysterious reasons.'

However, after landing, he was questioned by Indian immigration authorities and kept waiting for about two and a half hours without showing any specific reason.

Sources said the prime minister's adviser did not have a diplomatic passport but a green passport with a Saarc sticker.