Bangladesh PM’s Adviser Returns from Delhi Airport After Immigration Clearance Delay
On June 14, 2026, Zahed Ur Rahman, the Information and Broadcasting Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport but was briefly held by immigration authorities. The stop was due to a system-generated alert linked to a ‘negative list’ prepared by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in 2025. Mr. Rahman, who holds the rank of a State Minister, had travelled using a regular passport with a SAARC visa to participate in a meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in New Delhi.
The Bangladesh High Commission had formally intimated the MEA on June 12, 2026, that Mr. Rahman would lead the Bangladeshi delegation at the conference. Despite this prior notification, his name had not been removed from the negative list, triggering the alert when he presented himself for immigration clearance. According to Indian government sources, Mr. Rahman had been placed on the list in 2025 for past anti-India comments made on social media platforms.
After the immigration hold was flagged by officials at the Bangladesh High Commission, the alert was withdrawn and Mr. Rahman was granted permission to enter India. However, the clearance process took more than two hours. Sources confirmed that while he was eventually allowed entry, Mr. Rahman chose not to proceed with his visit and instead returned to Dhaka via a connecting flight from Colombo.
Mr. Rahman was appointed as an adviser in the Bangladesh government after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power in February 2026. He was nominated to attend the IORA conference, an inter-governmental organisation comprising 23 member states, established in 1997 to promote regional cooperation. India currently holds the chair of IORA for the period 2025–2027.
India’s policy on the negative list was outlined by the Union government in Parliament in 2016. It states that names of foreign nationals found to have engaged in anti-India activities, heinous crimes, or visa rule violations may be placed on a negative list after due consultation, barring them from entering India for a specified period. Recommendations can originate from various departments, including state police, and are forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration, which screens travellers at ports of entry.
The incident highlights the operational challenges in updating such security databases, especially in the context of changes in foreign governments and the appointment of new officials. While diplomatic channels were activated promptly, the delay led to the adviser cutting short his visit. No formal statement has been issued by either government beyond the factual sequence of events.
