Immigration authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport barred the wife and youngest daughter of Bangladesh Jatiya Party chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho from boarding a flight to Thailand on Tuesday afternoon.
Confirming the incident, Andaleeve Rahman Partho said that his wife, Sheikh Shaira Rahman, and their daughter were stopped at around 1:30pm at Dhaka airport while attempting to travel to Thailand for personal reasons.
“I believe my wife was stopped because of her ties to the Sheikh family,” Partho told the media. “We’re unsure about whether there was any specific clearance issue. They were simply going abroad for a vacation. As law-abiding citizens, we will ensure the necessary permissions are secured before they travel again.”
He added that airport immigration procedures have become stricter since the recent departure of former president Abdul Hamid.
Sheikh Shaira Rahman is the daughter of Sheikh Helal, who is a cousin of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Senior officials of the Police Special Branch were unavailable for comment on the matter.
The development comes shortly after former president Abdul Hamid flew to Bangkok for medical treatment in the early hours of May 9, aboard a Thai Airways flight—an incident that sparked public criticism and protests.
