NEW DELHI – India announced Wednesday it will withdraw family members and dependents of its diplomats from Bangladesh due to escalating security threats, just weeks before the South Asian nation’s fraught general election on February 12.
The decision comes as campaigning kicks off Thursday, igniting protests and counter-protests across Bangladesh. Relations between the neighbors have plummeted since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India in 2024 amid deadly street unrest that toppled her government.
An Indian official, speaking anonymously, described the pullout as part of “internal readjustments” but cited recent media reports confirming New Delhi’s move. No timeline was given for when the families might return, and neither country’s foreign ministry responded to requests for comment.
Tensions boiled over in December when India summoned Bangladesh’s high commissioner to protest a “deteriorating security situation,” including threats against its mission in Dhaka. The interim government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has demanded Hasina’s extradition while dismissing India’s worries about attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu minority.
This latest diplomatic friction underscores the fragile state of bilateral ties, with India’s action signaling deep concerns over stability in the lead-up to the polls.