Dhaka hands protest note

Amid escalating diplomatic tension between Dhaka and Islamabad, the Bangladesh foreign ministry summoned the Pakistan envoy here to lodge a strong protest yesterday, a day after a staffer of Bangladesh mission in Islamabad remained missing for nearly seven hours.

Handing the "strongly-worded" protest note to Pakistan High Commissioner Shuja Alam, Dhaka called on Islamabad to refrain from repeating such uncalled for activities, sources said.

Serving and retired diplomats in Dhaka described Pakistan's recent activities as a "violation of diplomatic norms".

They said Pakistan went beyond any "decency," as it continued to interfere into the domestic affairs of Bangladesh and harass Bangladeshi diplomats for no reasons.

Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam, acting foreign secretary and also secretary to maritime affairs unit, summoned the Pakistan envoy at 1:00pm and expressed grave concern over Monday's incident. He also wanted to know from the diplomat the circumstances of the Bangladesh mission official's going missing and his subsequent return.

Jahangir Hossain, Press Wing personal officer at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, had gone missing on Monday evening, immediately after police in Dhaka released Pakistan High Commission staffer Abrar Ahmed Khan, who was allegedly detained for seven hours by the Detective Branch of police here.

Hours after Abrar's release, the Pakistan High Commission came up with a detailed description of how its official was picked up by the DB. The Pakistan mission also brought some serious allegations against the detectives, including that of asking for money from Abrar as well as threatening to kill him in "crossfire".

However, the Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad or the foreign ministry in Dhaka did not issue any statement yesterday as to what had happened to the Bangladesh official or where he was taken and by whom. There was no official statement about the protest note either.

Jahangir Hossain had gone missing around 6:00pm on Monday and returned home unharmed around 12:45am (Pakistan time) yesterday.

He later submitted a report to the Bangladesh mission, describing his seven-hour "harassment" by Pakistani plainclothesmen.

The men blocked his way when he was going on a motorbike to pick his daughter from a coaching centre, diplomatic sources said, citing Jahangir's report that was later shared with the foreign ministry in Dhaka.

They then dragged him into a car and tied his hands. The plainclothesmen identified themselves as security personnel and raised questions about Jahangir's identity.

Though he showed them his ID card, they tried to tag him as an Afghan national. This went on for about a couple of hours until one of them told him that his ID card had been verified, said the diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Islamabad.

The plainclothesmen had also covered his face with a black mask, according to another source.

Later, they dropped him off at an unknown place after midnight and returned his ID card, cell phone and motorbike, Jahangir was stated as saying in his report.

The two incidents have further fuelled tensions between the two countries. Diplomatic ties between Dhaka and Islamabad are already strained, after Pakistan's statements on trials of the 1971 war criminals and alleged terrorist links of diplomatic officials of the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said the government was not considering severing diplomatic ties with Pakistan.

"But future will say what direction the relations will go," he said in reply to questions in parliament yesterday.

Contacted, noted Bangladeshi diplomat Humayun Kabir described the incident of the Bangladesh mission official's going missing as "very dangerous".

He also apprehends risks on the lives of Bangladesh diplomats and officials in Pakistan if such incidents continue to take place.

"The incident has gone beyond the diplomatic norms and decency … This is not desirable and should not happen. There may be a major accident if this type of incident continues in future," he said, calling for immediate talks between the two countries to resolve disputes and maintain certain diplomatic norms.

Secretary (bilateral) Mizanur Rahman was present at the meeting held at his office at the foreign ministry, when Shuja Alam said he would send the protest note to Islamabad immediately and assured the two secretaries of providing all the information related to the Bangladeshi staffer's going missing soon.

The Pakistan High Commissioner declined to elaborate on the meeting, but said, “I have been informed of yesterday's [Monday's] incident and I will convey the details to the foreign ministry after discussions with the Islamabad authorities.”

He added that Dhaka-Islamabad relations would continue as always and "I hope that relations would improve in the coming days".

The meeting lasted about an hour when the Bangladesh side described how Pakistan was interfering into Bangladesh's internal affairs since Dhaka began the war crimes trial in March 2010.

Pakistan withdrew Fareena Arshad, second secretary (political) at its High Commission in Dhaka, on December 23 last year, weeks after allegations of her involvement in terror financing surfaced in the confessional statement of an Islamist militant.

Earlier on January 31 that year, Islamabad recalled its non-diplomatic official Mazhar Khan for his alleged links with terror financing and currency forgery racket. Mazhar was allegedly involved in producing and distributing fake Indian currency.

In a move seen as a response, Pakistan asked Bangladesh to withdraw Maushumi Rahman, counsellor (political) at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, on January 6 without giving any reason.

Diplomatic ties between Dhaka and Islamabad soured after Bangladesh started executing convicted war criminals, who had actively collaborated with the Pakistan army in the genocide of some three million Bangladeshis and the rape of about two lakh women during the 1971 war.

Pakistan's parliament and a provincial assembly adopted resolutions after executions of a number of war criminals while senior ministers and the Pakistan foreign ministry launched a propaganda campaign by distorting some established facts about the war.

Following the execution of top Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Pakistan summoned the Bangladesh envoy there to lodge a formal protest on November 30 last year.