Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi suspends visa services for Indians in tit-for-tat move amid tense ties

In a tit-for-tat move, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi suspended consular and visa services on Monday as relations between the two sides went into a free fall following the death of the country’s youth leader, Sharif Osman Hadi, sources said.

On Sunday, India suspended visa services at the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Chattogram, a southeastern port city in Bangladesh, until further notice amid violence following the death of prominent youth leader Osman Hadi, who was one of the main figures in last year’s uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina.

"Due to unavoidable circumstances, all consular & visa services from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi are temporarily suspended until further notice," the Bangladesh mission stated.

"Any inconvenience caused is sincerely regretted," it



added.

India’s move in Chattogram came days after scores of people gathered outside the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) in Bangladesh’s second-largest city. According to sources, protesters warned of “bloodshed” at the Indian Visa Application Centre in Bangladesh’s Rajshahi to wash away what they described as injustice, and said they would take up swords or other arms if necessary.

“Due to a recent security incident at AHCI Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” it stated.

Last week, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, issued a warning over the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh, calling it India’s biggest strategic nightmare in the neighbouring country since the 1971 Liberation War.