By DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s interim government has recalled five envoys, including the ambassador to neighboring India, in a major diplomatic reshuffle, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday.
The reshuffle follows major political changes in Bangladesh, with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus leading an interim government after weeks of violent protests forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign on August 5 and flee to India.
The foreign ministry ordered envoys in Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, New Delhi, and the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York to return to Dhaka immediately, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
They were asked to hand over their responsibilities immediately and return, the official added, without elaborating.
This move comes after the recall of Saida Muna Tasneem, the High Commissioner to Britain, who was similarly asked to return. More than 700 people died as a result of the student-led protests that ousted Hasina, straining Bangladesh’s relations with India. The two countries have a 4,000-km (2500-mile) border and maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal.
In the wake of the political upheaval, minority groups in Bangladesh have made accusations of attacks on Hindus. However, the government insists that the violence was politically motivated rather than religiously driven.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
