Bangladesh DGFI Chief's Delhi Trip Reopens Intel Ties
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- DGFI chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury made an unannounced trip to New Delhi within a week of the BNP government taking charge on February 17, holding talks with NSA Ajit Doval, R&AW Chief Parag Jain, and DGMI Lt. Gen. R.S. Raman — the first such intelligence-level engagement since Hasina's August 2024 ouster.
- Bangladesh-India ties were under severe strain for 18 months after Hasina fled to India, with the Yunus-led interim government steering Dhaka closer to Pakistan while counterterrorism and cross-border intelligence-sharing channels went quiet.
- November 2025 Colombo Security Conclave in New Delhi produced the first known high-level security dialogue since Hasina's fall, when then-Bangladesh NSA Khalilur Rahman (now foreign affairs minister) met Doval, reopening a channel dormant for over a year.
- S. Jaishankar traveled to Dhaka in December 2025 to attend Khaleda Zia's funeral and met her son, now-Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, handing over a condolence letter from PM Modi — the political opening that preceded the intelligence reset.
- India sent Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to the BNP's February swearing-in ceremony, a rapid recognition of the new government that coincided with the security outreach.
- Visa services are being restored on both sides: India suspended visa issuance for Bangladeshis in August 2024 and again in November–December 2025 after anti-India protests, prompting Bangladesh to retaliate by suspending services for Indians; Bangladesh recommenced full-scale visa services at its Indian missions on February 24.
Why it matters: The DGFI chief's Delhi trip marks the first operational-level intelligence engagement in roughly 18 months, directly linking New Delhi's counterterrorism and border-security cooperation with Dhaka to a friendly government in power. For India, restoring these channels means regaining ground lost as the interim Yunus government tilted toward Pakistan; for the BNP government, the outreach gives Tarique Rahman early legitimacy with a powerful neighbor. The parallel visa restoration — suspended twice since August 2024 — removes the most visible friction point for ordinary citizens and businesses on both sides.
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