Meeting with Jamaat ameer was routine diplomatic engagement: India

A fortnight after the leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami revealed that he had held a meeting with an Indian diplomat, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said the interaction was part of the routine engagements conducted by Indian diplomats in Dhaka.

“We have close bilateral ties with Bangladesh, as you are well aware. Our High Commission officials routinely meet several interlocutors,” the ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question, reports Indian newspaper, The Hindu.

He added that “our interaction” with Jamaat-e-Islami “should be viewed in that context.”

In an interview with Reuters, Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman had revealed in December 2025 that an Indian diplomat had met him.

Local media reported that the meeting between the Indian diplomat and Shafiqur Rahman was held earlier in 2025.

In the interview, the Jamaat-e-Islami leader noted that although his meetings with international representatives were usually made public, the Indian official had requested him to keep the meeting “secret.”

“We have to be open to everyone. There is no alternative to improving mutual relations,”  he said.

Shafiqur Rahman has been meeting officials from the United States, China, and other countries ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 election.

Diplomats are also meeting leaders of other political parties, including the BNP.