Bangladesh’s interim government has started the process of withdrawing diplomatic passports, a senior post says. Some of the affected are the outgoing leaders, including the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former cabinet ministers, and members of parliament (MPs).
Although an official notice has not been published, the directive concerns diplomatic passports, usually known as ‘red passports,’ issued to diplomats who might have been retired or whose contracts have been canceled or not renewed. As one unnamed home ministry official has put it, this action is justified because such persons are not government employees at present.
“Since they opted out of the roles, the revocation decision was arrived at,” the official said. They also pointed out that the Home Ministry had issued verbal directives to the Department of Immigration and Passports, though written directives were awaited.
This decision comes after several influential members of Hasina’s Awami League party, including former cabinet ministers and MPs, tried to leave. Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 amid growing student uprisings and is believed to have sought asylum in India; she is said to have left Bangladesh without proper papers.
Given these situations, some of the cabinet ministers have been arrested while attempting to flee Bangladesh; the Border Guard in Bangladesh has also tightened security along the Bangladesh and India border within weeks.
The issuance of diplomatic passports is done with the approval of the home and foreign ministries, where the home ministry has deemed these documents invalid. Insiders have said the foreign ministry is also expected to repeat this request.
The department that deals with passports has already begun efforts to cancel the diplomatic passports. This passport must be given to the president, prime minister, cabinet ministers and members of parliament, their wives, judges of the higher courts, vice chancellors of public universities, the head of the public service commission, and other ministry officials.
Ordinarily, diplomatic passports are given to ministers and MPs for a term of five years or during the parliamentary session, on termination of which they cease to hold office.
