Foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain stated that issuing a visa is a “sovereign decision” of a country.
He made this remark in response to a question regarding Indian visa processing in Dhaka.
The Indian High Commission has resumed operations after a brief suspension during the student movement in July, but is currently issuing only a limited number of visas.
They are focusing on processing medical and emergency visas.
“Whether to issue a visa or not is a sovereign decision of a country, and we cannot question that,” Touhid Hossain said.
“However, we have communicated with the Indian High Commission, as many individuals travel to India to obtain visas for other countries. This situation also affects students who wish to study in countries that issue visas from the New Delhi mission.”
The adviser suggested to the High Commissioner that “if you relax the visa process, it will be helpful for us.”
The high commissioner updated him on the situation, noting that they are currently operating at “10% capacity” and have security concerns to address.
“We will try to ensure security for them,” the adviser added.
He also mentioned that the foreign ministry is working to facilitate visa applications for countries that do not have missions in Dhaka. For example, Romanian visas can be obtained from Vietnam and Pakistan.
When asked if Bangladesh would reciprocate by restricting visas in response to India’s limited issuance, the adviser said, “That’s speculative. They have not stated that they stopped issuing visas; they mentioned it’s a temporary problem due to manpower issues and security concerns.”
Being asked, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday in New Delhi said: "We are issuing limited visas. If someone needs to come to India for medical or urgent reasons, we are providing a limited number of those visas."
He added: "Only when the law-and-order situation improves and we have a suitable environment for our regular operations will we be able to issue visas as before."
However, in light of the reported recent incidents of idol vandalism during Durga Puja celebrations across various parts of Bangladesh, India feels that the situation has not yet normalized, as indicated by the spokesperson.
He further stated: "I would advise the interim government of Bangladesh to implement the assurances they have given regarding the protection of Bangladesh's religious minorities. Measures should be taken to ensure they feel safe."