New Delhi, April 11 -- India on Friday named senior diplomat Pranay Verma, currently the high commissioner to Bangladesh, as its new ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU), though there was no official word on his successor in Dhaka amid a buzz in diplomatic circles about the post going to a political appointee. Verma, who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1994, is expected to take up his new assignment in Brussels shortly, the external affairs ministry said. Verma, who was sent to Dhaka in October 2022, has been credited by diplomats of both countries for playing a key role in engaging with the power centres in Bangladesh, especially when ties were hit by strains during the tenure of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. While the government had zeroed in on another senior diplomat for the position in Dhaka - seen as crucial as India rebuilds ties with the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman - people familiar with the matter said that there has been a rethink in recent weeks, with New Delhi considering the possibility of a political appointee. The two names that have done the rounds for the past fortnight are former ministers MJ Akbar and Arif Mohammad Khan, the people said. Khan, replaced as Governor of Bihar last month after a stint of little more than a year, has been named by some as the front-runner though the people said a final decision is yet to be made. One of the people said that the government is also looking at some more names but declined to go into details. "One of the reasons for considering a political appointee is the need to engage with forces such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, which made considerable gains in Bangladesh's election in February, as well as the need to build closer ties with the BNP," a second person said. However, the people said there had also been some pushback against considering a political appointee in view of Bangladesh's importance within India's diplomatic establishment. "With the announcement regarding Verma's posting, the government will have to move quickly as the position in Dhaka can't be left vacant at such a crucial time," the second person said. Efforts by India and Bangladesh to recalibrate relations - after the strains witnessed following the collapse of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina and its replacement by Yunus's caretaker administration in August 2024 - got a boost this week with foreign minister Khalilur Rahman's visit to New Delhi this week. While the Bangladeshi side signalled that Hasina's presence in India - she has lived in self-exile in the country since fleeing Dhaka in 2024 - and Dhaka's request for her extradition to face charges at home remain sticking points for ties, both sides agreed to take forward the rebuilding of ties through the resumption of existing bilateral mechanisms, the people said....