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NEW DELHI:<\/strong> Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri on December 18 accused Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of acting at the behest of Pakistan amid an anti-India march to India\u2019s High Commission in the neighbouring country, claiming Pakistan\u2019s effort to take control of the Bangladesh army.<\/p>\n Speaking to ANI<\/em>, former diplomat Sikri criticised Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus for his silence over anti-India statements in the country.<\/p>\n Sikri said, \u201cWe do know that the regime change operation was supported by external powers, by the Western powers, but it was done through Pakistan. It was done through Pakistan, and Pakistan\u2019s biggest conduit in Bangladesh is the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Jamaat-e-Islami is acting at the behest of Pakistan. So this is their plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan\u2019s first effort in Bangladesh is to try to embed itself with the Bangladesh army. They want to take control of the Bangladesh army, and they have sent their officers; they\u2019re putting their officers in every division. It\u2019s a very dangerous and provocative situation and a great concern for India. When such statements were made, the Yunus regime did nothing. This means you agreed with them,\u201d the former diplomat told ANI.<\/p>\n This comes after the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Dhaka temporarily closed its operations due to security concerns over an anti-Indian march to its High Commission in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n As Bangladesh is set to undergo elections in February 2026 after the regime change in the nation, Veena Sikri added that Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to \u201cwhip up\u201d as they do not have popular support.<\/p>\n \u201cSo the Jamaat-e-Islami thinks now that they\u2019re in a situation where they will definitely get the vote. But they know that they don\u2019t have popular support. So they\u2019re trying to whip up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It is believed that the main competition in the upcoming elections will be between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and the Jamaat-e-Islami. The newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP), which led the uprising against Sheikh Hasina, will also participate in the polls. \u201cThe people of Bangladesh value their friendship with India. They know that their prosperity, stability, and economic development depend on good relations with India. We just hope that we are very keen and strong on the fact that elections must be free, fair, inclusive and credible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, today, visa application centres in Khulna and Rajshahi in Bangladesh have been shut down due to anti-India protests, an official of the High Commission of India in Dhaka said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were protests in Khulna and Rajshahi today. Whenever the security situation turns bad, we are forced to shut down. We have shut down visa centres in Khulna and Rajshahi,\u201d the official told ANI. In Rajshahi, the anti-Indian hegemony platform \u201cJuly 36 Mancha\u201d organised a march toward the Indian Assistant High Commission. Similar protests have also been called in Khulna.<\/p>\n The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it expects Bangladesh\u2019s interim government to ensure the safety of Missions and Posts in the country in keeping with its diplomatic obligations.<\/p>\n The protest comes amid heightened concerns in New Delhi about the security environment in Bangladesh. \u201cIndia completely rejects the false narrative sought to be created by extremist elements regarding certain recent events in Bangladesh. It is unfortunate that the interim government has neither conducted a thorough investigation nor shared meaningful evidence with India regarding the incidents,\u201d the MEA said.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia has close and friendly relations with the people of Bangladesh, rooted in the liberation struggle and strengthened through various developmental and people-to-people initiatives. We are in favour of peace and stability in Bangladesh and have consistently called for free, fair, inclusive and credible elections, conducted in a peaceful atmosphere,\u201d it added. (With inputs from ANI)<\/p>\n Credit : Organiser Weekly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW DELHI: Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri on December 18 accused Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami of acting at the behest of Pakistan amid an anti-India march to India\u2019s High Commission in the neighbouring country, claiming Pakistan\u2019s effort to take control of the Bangladesh army. Speaking to ANI, former diplomat Sikri criticised Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[31257,1396,31256,2616],"class_list":["post-56935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-international","tag-anti-india-protests","tag-bangladesh","tag-jamaat-e-islami","tag-pakistan"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nFurther, she said that people of Bangladesh value their friendship with India, knowing that the nation\u2019s stability and economic development depend on relations with New Delhi.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have resumed the visa application centre in Dhaka,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\nThe MEA had summoned Bangladesh\u2019s High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, and apprised him of India\u2019s strong concerns, particularly regarding the activities of extremist elements who have announced plans to create a security situation around the Indian Mission in Dhaka.<\/p>\n