Bangladesh summons top Indian diplomat, suspends Tripura mission activities

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry summoned the Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pranay Verma after a violent demonstration and attack on a Bangladeshi consulate in the Indian state of Tripura, Foreign Affairs advisor Touhid Hossain said Tuesday.

After the meeting between Verma and Acting Foreign Secretary M. Riaz Hamidullah in Dhaka, the Indian envoy told reporters that the relationship between both nations cannot be reduced to a single incident in Agartala.

"We have a wide ranging and multifaceted relationship. You cannot reduce it to one issue," Verma said, adding that both countries are interested in engaging based on the aspirations of their peoples.

He said they are in favor of a constructive and stable relationship.

Bangladeshi Assistant High Commission in Agartala has suspended all visa and consular services until further notice following the attack on the mission by a group of Hindu protesters who vandalized the building and set fire to the Bangladeshi national flag. The protesters alleged that Hindu minorities are being targeted which Bangladesh rejected.

The visa and consular services will remain suspended until further notice and take effect immediately because of intimation of all the visa and consular service seekers, it said Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that it resented the “preplanned attack” on its mission in.

The neighboring south Asian countries have been witnessing discomfort after the fall of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Since Hasina fled to India on Aug. 5 in face of an uprising and a Muhammad Yunus-led transitional government took office Aug. 8, the Indian government and Hindu right-wing groups started alleging that the Hindu minorities and temples in Bangladesh are being targeted.

The Bangladesh government, however, rejected the allegations as “propaganda.”

The Indian Foreign Ministry termed the attack as “deeply regrettable” and assured safety and security of missions in India.

In northeastern state of Tripura, police said Tuesday that it arrested seven people and action has been initiated against some police officials in connection with Monday's incident in Agartala.

*Ahmad Adil in New Delhi contributed to the story