Hasina’s Passport-NID Row Forces Postponement of India-Bangladesh Consular Talks

The fifth round of consular dialogue between Bangladesh and India has been postponed. The Director General-level talks between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries were scheduled to take place in Dhaka on November 17–18. However, diplomatic sources confirmed that a decision has been taken to temporarily defer the meeting.

According to diplomatic sources, fresh tensions have arisen between the two nations following applications for a passport and national identity card submitted by ousted former PM Sheikh Hasina, who is currently staying in India. These developments reportedly led to the postponement of the pre-scheduled dialogue.

Earlier, both sides had agreed to hold the fifth consular dialogue in Dhaka. The meeting was slated to cover key bilateral matters, including border management, visa processing, repatriation of detained citizens, release and return of fishermen, and mutual legal cooperation.

The dialogue was viewed as a vital platform to address border issues, visa complexities, and the repatriation of individuals detained in each other’s prisons, alongside broader consular matters concerning citizens of both countries. The bilateral consular dialogue framework began in 2017, with four rounds held to date. The fourth and most recent dialogue took place in New Delhi in May 2024.

Had the fifth round taken place in Dhaka, it would have provided an opportunity to advance talks on unresolved consular and legal cooperation matters. With the postponement, discussions on these issues remain temporarily delayed, and diplomatic sources have yet to confirm a revised schedule.