{"id":146265,"date":"2026-01-17T13:02:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T07:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?p=146265"},"modified":"2026-01-17T13:02:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T07:32:02","slug":"bangladeshs-struggle-i-no-consular-access-to-assam-jails-despite-mea-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?p=146265","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh\u2019s Struggle I No Consular Access to Assam Jails despite MEA Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-145277\" src=\"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/New-Logo-Smal.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"55\" title=\"\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">The State Government has failed to respond to consular visit requests to jails from the Office of the <a href=\"http:\/\/Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800000\">Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh<\/span><\/strong><\/a> in Guwahati, even after receiving approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In the past month, the Home and Political Department has not addressed four requests for these visits, all submitted in December 2025 and now facing expiration.<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_146266\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-146266\" style=\"width: 680px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/No Consular Access to Assam Jails despite MEA Approval:\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-146266 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260117-WA0037.avif\" alt=\"Bangladesh\u2019s Struggle I \" width=\"680\" height=\"335\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260117-WA0037.avif 680w, https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG-20260117-WA0037-300x148.avif 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-146266\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>No Consular Access to Assam Jails despite MEA Approval:<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">This marks the first time such delays have occurred since the Consular Office was established in 2017, according to a source familiar with the matter. Consular access is essential for verifying the backgrounds of individuals declared Bangladeshi nationals by the Court. Once verified, the Consular Office can issue the necessary Travel Permit (TP) to assist in the deportation process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">Records indicate that over 650 TPs have been issued in the last eight years to facilitate the repatriation of Bangladeshi nationals. Currently, approximately 45 declared Bangladeshi nationals are being held in four detention facilities across Assam: 16 in Guwahati Central Jail, 12 in Dhubri district jail, with the remaining individuals housed in Karimganj district jail and the Matia detention camp in Goalpara.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">This situation arises amid the State Government\u2019s recent emphasis on a \u201cpush back\u201d policy regarding foreign nationals. Observers attribute the lack of responsiveness to increased tensions in the Indo-Bangla relationship. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that all individuals identified as foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) would face immediate deportation within a week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">Official figures reveal that from May 2021 to November 2025, a total of 1,517 foreigners were deported. During this timeframe, 59,757 cases were resolved by the FTs, while 77,883 cases remain pending. Of these, 30,264 people were declared foreigners and 15,359 were ruled \u201cnot foreigners.\u201d Currently, 100 FTs are operational in Assam.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The State Government has failed to respond to consular visit requests to jails from the Office of the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Guwahati, even after receiving approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In the past month, the Home and Political Department has not addressed four requests for these visits, all submitted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":146266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","jnews_video_option_group":[[]],"override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"bottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"2","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-715","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"News Desk:"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[200],"tags":[52704,52703],"class_list":["post-146265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-assam","tag-jails-despite-mea-approval","tag-no-consular-access-to-assam"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":157662,"url":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?p=157662","url_meta":{"origin":146265,"position":0},"title":"Assam Police Arrest Four in Meghalaya, Recover Two Stolen Bikes","author":"News Desk","date":"August 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Assam Police, with assistance from Meghalaya Police, have arrested four men in the Mawsynram area and recovered two motorcycles suspected to have been stolen from Assam and being transported for illegal sale in Bangladesh, police said. The arrests were made during a joint operation by a team from Goreswar Police\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NORTHEAST&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NORTHEAST","link":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega.avif","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega.avif 1x, https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega.avif 1.5x, https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mega.avif 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":158816,"url":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?p=158816","url_meta":{"origin":146265,"position":1},"title":"Assam Police Intercept 10 Alleged Infiltrators at Border, Says Himanta","author":"News Desk","date":"September 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday, September 18, that Assam Police had foiled an alleged attempted infiltration along the state\u2019s border, claiming they intercepted 10 individuals who reportedly entered India with \u201culterior motives.\u201d In a post on social media platform X, Sarma stated that the 10 people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Assam&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Assam","link":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ss-1.avif","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ss-1.avif 1x, https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ss-1.avif 1.5x, https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ss-1.avif 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":157418,"url":"https:\/\/assamtimespost.in\/?p=157418","url_meta":{"origin":146265,"position":2},"title":"Assam-Meghalaya Taxi Standoff Finally Resolved \u2014 Tourism Minister","author":"ASSAM TIMES POST","date":"August 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The prolonged standoff between tourist taxi associations of Meghalaya and Assam \u2014 triggered by road blockades after violence on August 19 \u2014 has been resolved following intervention at the chief ministerial level, Meghalaya Tourism Minister Timothy D. 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