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Delhi seminar featuring Awami League leaders cancelled after police intervention
Published : Sunday, 30 August, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Observer Online Report
A seminar in New Delhi featuring several leaders of Bangladesh’s banned Awami League was cancelled after Delhi Police reportedly refused permission for the event at the last minute.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC South Asia) had organised the seminar, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday evening. In a statement, the FCC said the event had to be cancelled because Delhi Police declined to grant permission.
The seminar, titled “Europe and Asia: From Dialogue to Partnership,” jointly organised by the FCC and Belgium-based Hand in Hand Foundation. It was scheduled from 6pm to 8pm at the Sir Mark Tully Auditorium in New Delhi.
Among the scheduled speakers was Selim Mahmud, the information and research secretary of the Awami League, whose activities are banned in Bangladesh. Other speakers included Bangladeshi-American scientist and human rights activist Nooran Nabi, Rohingya rights activist and Rohingya United Youth Network president Ravi Alam, and United Diplomatic Council president Asif Iqbal.
Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri, former German ambassador to Dhaka Peter Fahrenholz, Czech politician and European Parliament member Ondřej Dostál, and FCC-IAPC Global Forum chairman Venkat Narayan were also listed as speakers or discussants.
FCC South Asia Secretary-General Prakash Nanda told BBC Bangla that Delhi Police had simply informed them that the event could not be held but did not provide a specific reason.
“We repeatedly asked them why the event was being stopped, but they refused to give us a reason,” Nanda said.
He added that police not only stopped the event but also erected barricades around the venue and deployed more than 100 personnel.
Delhi Police has not issued an official statement explaining the cancellation. However, a senior police official told BBC Bangla that police have the authority to cancel any event at any time if there is a possibility of an unpleasant situation developing.
The official did not say whether police had received any specific information suggesting such a risk in connection with Saturday’s seminar.
The cancellation comes after another FCC event in New Delhi on August 5, where former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the gathering virtually. The event drew a strong reaction from Dhaka and added to tensions between Bangladesh and India.
Hasina has been living in India since August 5, 2024, when she was ousted from power. She is facing a death sentence in Bangladesh in a case involving crimes against humanity.
According to BBC correspondent Shubhjayoti Ghosh in Delhi, the latest development is being viewed as a possible indication that Indian authorities do not want Awami League leaders to hold public events in the capital following the controversy surrounding Hasina’s August 5 speech.
Former Bangladeshi diplomats and analysts have expressed a similar view. Former diplomat Mahfuzur Rahman said Hasina’s virtual speech had further strained relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
He described the cancellation as a “positive signal,” saying India appeared to have taken Bangladesh’s concerns into consideration and was unwilling to take another risk by allowing a similar event.
Source: BBC Bangla
-HIS
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
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