Bangladesh Home Minister Skips First BIMSTEC Meet in Delhi Amid Tensions

Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed will skip the first-ever meeting of home ministers of the BIMSTEC grouping in New Delhi, with Dhaka sending a delegation led by a senior bureaucrat instead. The development comes amid strained India-Bangladesh ties, even as protesters attacked the residence of Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader in Dhaka on Monday, accusing him of being an “Indian agent” and supporting ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Home Affairs Senior Secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury is leading the Bangladeshi delegation at the two-day meeting, which began on Monday with senior officials from the home and interior ministries of member states. The home ministers are scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

According to Bangladeshi media reports, the delegation also includes AKM Shahidul Karim, an additional secretary in the foreign ministry responsible for SAARC, BIMSTEC and other priority issues, and Joint Secretary Rebecca Khan. No official reason was specified for Ahmed's absence.

The decision comes amid a downturn in relations following the ouster of Hasina's government in August 2024, after which she fled to India. Last month, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also skipped the outreach session of the BRICS summit in New Delhi despite an invitation from the Indian government in his capacity as BIMSTEC chair.

Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside Quader's residence in Sector 7 of Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood at approximately 10:45 am on Monday. Carrying a banner identifying themselves as “Anti-Autocracy General Public”, they demanded his arrest and accused him of betraying those killed during the July 2024 uprising.

Quader said protesters hurled bricks and stones at his house while he and his wife were having breakfast, shattering windowpanes and scattering broken glass across the drawing room. The attackers could not enter because the gate was locked.

Khalid Mansur, officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station, said police received information about the incident at around 11 am. Officers arrived after being alerted, but the attackers fled. Police personnel were deployed at the scene after the incident. The accusations against Quader were made by the protesters and were not independently established findings.

The BIMSTEC meeting brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand to discuss regional security cooperation, law enforcement coordination, intelligence sharing, counterterrorism and transnational crime. Bangladesh assumed the grouping's chairmanship in April 2025.

Hasina's presence in India remains a major point of contention. Dhaka has sought her extradition, while New Delhi says the request is under examination in accordance with applicable law and established legal procedures.