Dhaka: The Bangladeshi interim government, on Wednesday, recalled at least five of its diplomats working in different countries. In a letter issued by Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry, it asked an Indian along with Australia, Belgium, Portugal and an envoy to the UN to return to Dhaka. As per the order, these diplomats have not gone down well within the country's foreign service.
However, the Bangladeshi envoy in India, Mustafizur Rahman, is set to retire in a few months. It is worth mentioning that Rahman is a Bangladeshi career diplomat. Prior to assignment in India, he served as the permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva, the Ambassador to Switzerland and the High Commissioner to Singapore.
"Return immediately"
The diplomats were asked to hand over their responsibilities immediately and return, the official told news agency Reuters, without elaborating.
The step follows the recall of Saida Muna Tasneem, the high commissioner, or ambassador, to Britain, who was similarly asked to return. More than 700 people died as a result of the student-led movement that ousted Hasina, straining ties with India. The two have a 4,000 km border and maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal.
Minority groups in Bangladesh have made accusations of attacks on Hindus after the political changes, though the government says the violence was motivated by politics, not religion.
The latest development came at a time when the relations between both India and Bangladesh plunged to a new low. Bangladesh interim chief Muhammad Yunus, who is currently leading the country after Hasina's dramatic exit, did not utter a single word on atrocities on the Hindu community. This angered New Delhi.
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