The meetings have intensified scrutiny over India-Bangladesh intelligence cooperation, raising questions about security agencies’ influence alongside formal diplomatic and political channels
MM Report
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s intelligence relationship with India has come under renewed scrutiny following a visit by the chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) to Dhaka, with diplomatic and security sources describing the engagement as significant amid growing political sensitivities over New Delhi’s role in Bangladesh.
Sources familiar with the developments said the R&AW chief travelled to Dhaka on an official visit at the invitation of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), rather than the elected government. The visit came at a politically sensitive time, with Bangladesh’s authorities increasingly critical of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s public statements from India.
During the visit, the Indian delegation met Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, the chiefs of several law enforcement agencies and Tariq Rahman’s Defence Affairs Adviser, Brig Gen (retd) AKM Shamsul Islam, according to sources.
The meetings have raised questions in political and diplomatic circles over the scope of India-Bangladesh intelligence cooperation and the role being played by security institutions alongside formal political channels.
Bangladesh’s Information and Broadcasting adviser has publicly said that Dhaka would not allow R&AW to operate in the country in the manner it allegedly did during Hasina’s tenure. The statement has prompted questions over whether the nature of intelligence cooperation has changed under the current administration, or whether the country’s political and security institutions have differing approaches towards India.
The presence of the R&AW chief in Dhaka, followed by meetings with senior law enforcement officials, the defence adviser and business figures, has also fuelled speculation over the broader purpose of the visit. Security sources said the engagements should be viewed in the context of the wider intelligence and diplomatic relationship between the two countries, rather than as an isolated visit.
The visit also coincided with a notable diplomatic engagement involving India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, who met Tariq Rahman for the first time. The Indian envoy described the meeting as “fruitful” and said the two countries not only shared a border but also “shared dreams”.
The diplomatic overture came against a backdrop of increasingly vocal anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh, including calls by political groups for greater distance from New Delhi.
