RAW chief Parag Jain met Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s defence affairs advisor in Dhaka on Monday. The visit came as both sides try to steady strained bilateral ties.
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Parag Jain met Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Defence Affairs Advisor Brig Gen (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam in Dhaka on Monday, as India and Bangladesh seek to manage strained bilateral ties and work towards a reset.
According to The Daily Star, Jain led a four-member Indian delegation that arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on an official visit at the invitation of Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the country’s spy agency. The delegation included Ashwin Mukund Kotnis, Rahul Negi and Shaibal Roy Chowdhury.
Jain’s meeting with Shamsul Islam coincided with Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi’s meeting with Tarique Rahman, The Daily Star reported.
The Indian delegation also met the chiefs of other law enforcement agencies and Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed during its stay in Dhaka before returning to New Delhi.
A diplomatic source cited by The Daily Star described Jain’s visit as “routine”, saying DGFI delegations visit India while RAW officials visit Dhaka every other year. The visits involve sharing observations and perspectives on the security situation and other matters, the source said.
The visit comes amid efforts to reset India-Bangladesh ties, which deteriorated during the tenure of former chief advisor Muhammad Yunus. Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a decisive mandate and took office in March.
The bilateral relationship has also been affected by the issue of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh in 2024 following massive student protests.
Bangladesh has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition to face legal proceedings in the country. India has said it is examining Dhaka’s request in accordance with its legal obligations and applicable procedures.
RAW CHIEF’S DHAKA VISIT COMES DAYS AFTER HASINA’S DELHI PRESSER
The RAW chief’s visit also came days after Hasina made her first public appearance before international media since fleeing Bangladesh two years ago. During a virtual interaction from Delhi on August 5, she rejected the official account of the 2024 uprising, describing it as a “planned regime change” rather than a peaceful student-led movement.
Hasina also said she would return to Bangladesh in December, despite facing multiple criminal cases and a death sentence handed down in absentia.
Her remarks triggered a sharp response from Dhaka, which accused India of allowing its territory to be used to undermine Bangladesh’s sovereignty. Bangladesh described the event as “an affront to the sovereignty of Bangladesh” and said India’s decision to allow Hasina’s live media interaction had hurt bilateral ties and insulted those killed in the 2024 uprising.
