Bangladesh, India hold talks aimed at defusing tensions over alleged attacks

The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India are meeting in Bangladesh’s capital to discuss relations between the neighbors, including growing tensions since the fall of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled into exile in India i…

DHAKA, Bangladesh — The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and India met Monday in Bangladesh’s capital to discuss relations between the neighbors, including growing tensions since the fall of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled into exile in India in August.

The tensions have grown over the recent arrest in Bangladesh of a Hindu spiritual leader under the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Alleged attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh and on a Bangladesh diplomatic mission in India were expected to feature prominently in the talks. India stopped issuing visas for Bangladeshis except emergency medical visas after Hasina’s ouster.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misra was holding the daylong talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Mohammad Jashim Uddin, in the first high-level visit by an Indian official since massive protests ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.

Hasina is thought to be a trusted friend of Hindu-majority India, which has raised concerns over allegation of attacks on religious minorities, especially Hindus, in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, since Hasina’s ouster. Most Bangladeshi Hindus are thought to be supporters of Hasina’s secular Awami League party.

Hindus recently attacked a Bangladeshi diplomatic office in Agartala, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, in reaction to the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Das Prabhu, who had led large rallies in recent months demanding better security for Hindus. Late last month, Hindu protesters also burned Bangladeshi flags in Kolkata, the capital of India’s eastern state of West Bengal, triggering protests by the Yunus-led government.

Other political parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s main political foe, and Islamist groups have protested against the attacks in Tripura.

Hindus also protested in parts of India against alleged attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and the jailing of Prabhu.

Misri is to pay courtesy calls on Yunus and Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain before leaving for New Delhi later Monday.