In a major diplomatic reshuffle, Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus-led government has, reportedly, recalled five envoys, including the ambassador to India.
Reuters quoted a foreign ministry official as saying that the envoys in New Delhi, Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon and the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York have been asked to return to Dhaka immediately. They were asked to hand over their responsibilities immediately and return, the official said.
The envoys are: Mustafizur Rahman, High Commissioner to India; Mahbub Hassan Saleh, Ambassador to Belgium; M. Allama Siddiqui, High Commissioner to Australia; Rezina Ahmed, Ambassador to Portugal; and Muhammad Abdul Muhith, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.
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The move comes close on the heels of the sudden recall of Saida Muna Tasneem, the high commissioner in Britain.
An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Yunus took over in Bangladesh after violent protests over a job quota order rocked the nation in July, eventually turning into an anti-government movement led by students, resulting in the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina regime. The country-wide agitation killed more than 700 people, and Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled to India. Yunus was appointed as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government on August 8.
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The ties between India and Bangladesh have been strained following Hasina's departure. In fact, Bangladesh had, last month, asked India to address the matter of border killings seriously, in the backdrop of the death of a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl near the border. The foreign affairs ministry lodged a formal protest with the Indian government, saying that such incidents were “undesirable and unwarranted” and a violation of the provisions of the Joint Indo-Bangladesh Guidelines for Border Authorities, 1975.
