India appears to be extending an olive branch to Bangladesh, based on recent developments. Not only did EAM S Jaishankar attend BNP leader Khaleda Zia’s funeral in Dhaka, but there are also unconfirmed reports that an Indian diplomat held a secret meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman.
According to a report published by Reuters on Wednesday, the meeting between Rahman and an Indian diplomat took place in early 2025.
Regarding the secrecy of the meeting, the Jamaat ameer told Reuters that the matter was kept secret at the request of the Indian official. However, diplomats from other countries met with him openly.
Though India is yet to react to the reports formally, the Jamaat ameer said the party has always been open to each other. “There is no alternative to improving relations," he said. Rahman told Reuters that the meeting happened at his home after he returned home from treatment. “When I returned home after my treatment after falling ill in the middle of the year, many people from home and abroad came to meet me. Just as diplomats from other countries came, two Indian diplomats also came to see me at my house. Like others, I spoke to them too," he said.
After the reports gained attention, Rahman took to Facebook to clarify about the meeting. He claimed that he wanted to publicize the meeting. “We told them during the conversation that we would publicise the meetings to all the diplomats here. We want to give you the same. Then they requested that I not do it. We said it was ideal that a meeting between representatives of the two countries be held publicly. There is no privacy here,” he said.
The Jamaat leader added that he was surprised to learn that some Bangladeshi media had been reporting about the “secret meeting with India”.
“I strongly condemn this kind of news and urge the concerned to refrain from presenting confusing news without knowing the facts in the future,” he said.
