India Reopens Dhaka Visa Centre Amid Anti-India Protests; Khulna and Rajshahi Centres Closed

India on Thursday resumed operations at its visa application centre in Dhaka, a day after closing it over escalated security concerns, but closed two other identical facilities in other parts of Bangladesh as anti-India protestors tried to march towards the Indian missions there.The Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at southwestern Khulna and northwestern Rajshahi were closed on the grounds of security concerns amid strong protest marches towards the facilities that were stopped by security officials.

In Rajshahi, “Bharityo Adhipotto Birodhi July 36 Mancha” tried to march towards the Assistant High Commission of India but police in riot gear blocked them near the mission when a brief clash occurred as the protestors tried to break through the security barricades. The protesters raised anti-India slogans, according to the videos on social media. In Khulna, the protestors under a banner called ‘Unity Against Indian Hegemony’ tried to march towards the Assistant High Commission of India but army soldiers and navy sailors joined hands with police to thwart the marchers.

“We had enforced a stringent vigil preventing them (protestors) from proceeding towards the mission. They left the scene after staging a ‘peaceful’ rally,” Khulna’s deputy commissioner of police Tajul Islam said. The reports said in both the rallies the protestors accused India of sheltering deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and demanded her immediate return to be exposed to gallows.

Hasina fled to India last year after violent student-led protests spanning over a month since July. Multiple students’ groups have termed the protests as July 36 to include the time up to August 5, when Hasina fled to India. In November, a special tribunal sentenced Hasina to death on charges of committing crimes against humanity. There have been similar anti-India protests in Dhaka and other parts for some time.

There are five IVAC centres in Bangladesh. Apart from those in Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi, the two others are in the northeastern port city of Chattogram and northeastern Sylhet. The IVAC at Dhaka’s Jamuna Future Park is the main, integrated centre for all Indian visa services in the capital. “Indian Visa Application Centre in Dhaka is now operational and functioning normally,” an IVAC official told. IVAC’s Dhaka centre had on Wednesday announced temporary closure amid escalated tensions when a large group of anti-India protestors headed towards the Indian High Commission.

Police said they have deployed extra security around the Indian mission. The centre, on its website, said the IVAC closed its two centres in Khulna and Rajshahi on Thursday. “In view of the on-going security situation, we wish to bring to your kind notice that IVAC Rajshahi and Khulna will be closed today (18.12.2025),” it said, adding, “All applicants who have appointment slots booked for submission today will be given a slot at a later date.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Bangladesh envoy Riaz Hamidullah and conveyed its strong concern over certain extremist elements announcing plans to create a security situation around the Indian mission in Dhaka. “We expect the interim Government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in Bangladesh in keeping with its diplomatic obligations,” it said. The envoy was apprised of India’s strong concerns about the deteriorating security environment in Bangladesh, it added.

Meanwhile, in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, said they assured foreign missions in Dhaka of adequate security steps ahead of the scheduled February polls. Foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam briefed the diplomats about the election preparedness and the related security measures on Thursday for the scheduled February 12 polls. Security personnel outside the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Former Bangladesh PM Zia’s health continues to be critical: doctor

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia remains critical even as she continues to receive treatment at a Dhaka hospital, her personal doctor AZM Zahid Hossain said on Thursday. Zia, the 80-year-old chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital since November 23 for multiple health complications and was shifted to a coronary care unit (CCU) later. On December 11, she was placed on “ventilator support to give rest to her lungs and other vital organs.”

“She is receiving the treatment being given to her properly. Her physical condition continues to stay the same as it was a few days ago,” Hossain, also a member of BNP’s policy making standing committee, told reporters. He also described Zia’s condition as “stable” and expected she “will recover and be able to play her proper role in the country’s politics.” Zia’s medical board, in a statement on December 11, said she was kept under round the clock medical watch by a team of local and foreign specialists, as several of her vital organs continued to be under severe stress.

She was scheduled to be flown to London last week with the medical board’s consent but her departure was delayed as an air ambulance offered by Qatar could not reach Dhaka.The doctors later decided that Zia should receive continued treatment at Dhaka’s hospital until she was deemed fit to fly. Zia’s son and BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman is set to return home on December 25 ending his 17 years of self-exile in London.