Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali has said he had spoken to his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj during her recent visit to Dhaka about easing the visa processing for Bangladeshis.
“This is a complicated issue. Still, talks are on with India about it,” he said while replying to a query from Independent MP Haji Md Selim in Parliament on Wednesday.
Independent MP Haji Md Selim told the minister Bangladeshis faced harassment in getting Indian visa.
He said the e-token system meant to simplify the process has now become a source of harassment, as people find it difficult to get the tokens.
Selim alleged that certain quarters were trying to profit out of it.
The MP went on to say that Pakistani nationals were not subjected to similar harassment like Bangladeshis, though India and Pakistan had fought three wars.
During Sushma Swaraj’s visit, Indian external affairs ministry’s spokesperson Akbaruddin said India had decided to issue five-year multiple-entry visas for Bangladeshi nationals below 13 and above 65 years of age.
Replying to a query by MP Md Ayen Uddin, the foreign minister said Indian Border Security Force had handed over 1,160 Bangladeshi nationals to the Border Guard Bangladesh in past five years.
Source: Bd news24