Meeting with Jamaat chief was part of 'routine diplomatic engagement,' India says

New Delhi has said the reported meeting between a senior Indian diplomat and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman was part of routine diplomatic engagement, responding nearly two weeks after the issue surfaced in the media.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs made the comment on Friday, according to a report by The Hindu, following questions about the interaction.

Speaking at a briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We have close bilateral ties with Bangladesh as you are well aware. Our High Commission officials routinely meet several interlocutors.” 

He added that interaction with Jamaat “should be viewed in that context.”

The issue first came to light after Shafiqur gave an interview to Reuters in late December, which was published on December 31, 2025.

In that interview, he said an Indian diplomat had visited him, but the meeting had not been made public at India’s request.

Reports about the meeting emerged on the same day India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was in Dhaka to pay last respects to former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Following domestic media reports, which described the meeting as “secret” citing Reuters, Shafiqur issued a sharp protest the next day.

On his Facebook page, he wrote that he had met two Indian diplomats in mid-2025 and the disclosure was at their request, insisting that “there is nothing secret here.”