An event titled “Europe and Asia: From Dialogue to a Partnership and Prosperity” was scheduled to be held on August 29 at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia (FCC) in Delhi.

However, the event was cancelled at the last moment following intervention by Delhi Police.

Former Indian diplomats, journalists and European politicians, as well as several individuals associated with the Awami League, whose activities are banned, were scheduled to attend the event.

Before the event was due to begin, Tilak Marg police station informed the organisers that the event could not be held due to “certain controversies.”

Delhi Police later denied allegations that it had intervened in the event.

One of the main organisers of the event was Belgium-based Hand in Hand Foundation. Its secretary-general, A.F.M. Golam Jilani, was also among the scheduled speakers. However, he could not travel to India because he did not receive a visa.

The names of the speakers were listed on the event poster posted on Jilani AFM Golam’s Facebook profile.

The scheduled speakers included former Indian ambassador to Bangladesh Veena Sikri, former German ambassador Peter Fahrenholz, Bangladeshi-American scientist and Liberation War veteran Nurun Nabi, European Parliament member Ondrej Dostál, and Selim Mahmud, a former Awami League lawmaker from Chandpur-1, whose party’s activities are banned.

Hand in Hand Foundation had created an event page for the programme on its Facebook page on August 12.

The Dissent spoke to Dr Wael Awad, president of FCC South Asia and IAPC, one of the organisers of the event. He confirmed that the event had been cancelled and said police had raised objections to it.

Although Hand in Hand Foundation has described itself to Indian media as a non-political organisation, The Dissent’s investigation found multiple pieces of information indicating the involvement of individuals associated with the Awami League, whose activities are banned.

The South Asia Democratic Forum identified Belgium Awami League and Hand in Hand Foundation as organisers of a conference on the Rohingya crisis held at the European Parliament on October 15, 2019. A.F.M. Golam Jilani, the foundation’s secretary-general, attended the event as its representative. On his Facebook profile, he regularly posts content in support of the Awami League.

Earlier, on June 30, 2026, Hand in Hand Foundation organised a dialogue at the European Parliament in Brussels titled “Democratic Transition, Human Rights and Geopolitical Dynamics in South Asia: Challenges and Future Perspectives.”

One of the speakers at the event, Dr Nurun Nabi, has served as president of the United States Bangabandhu Parishad. Another speaker, Barrister Masud Akhter, addressed an event in Brussels organised by the European Awami League to mark the 77th founding anniversary of the Awami League. Prosenjit Shil, a member of Rangamati Chhatra League, was also present at the event.

Awami League-aligned activist Nizum Majumder was also present and published part of his speech from the event on his YouTube channel.

In a post on the official Facebook page of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the participation of leaders of France Awami League and its affiliated organisations in the discussion at the European Parliament was publicised.

Similarly, the France Awami League’s Facebook page publicised the event, saying that leaders of France Awami League and France Chhatra League had actively participated.

The cancellation of the event in Delhi comes at a time when diplomatic tensions have emerged between Dhaka and New Delhi over a virtual press conference by fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia.

Dhaka expressed anger over Sheikh Hasina’s public political statements from Indian soil. Subsequently, tensions in relations between the two countries resurfaced over a possible visit to Delhi by Tarique Rahman.

Bangladesh has also raised the need to create a “conducive environment” ahead of his visit to the country, while also raising the issue of extraditing fugitive individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, who are staying in India.

It was against this backdrop that the event, which was scheduled to feature individuals associated with the Awami League, was cancelled at the last moment at the same venue.