Reports of secy’s departure: Unease grips foreign ministry

A sense of uncertainty prevails in the foreign ministry over reports that Secretary Jashim Uddin will be removed.

On top of this, Sufiur Rahman, who was appointed nearly a month ago as the chief adviser's special assistant, has not joined.

Foreign ministry officials say there is a social media campaign portraying certain officials as beneficiaries of the ousted Awami League regime. Some officials also feel deprived and are lobbying to get better positions.

Journalists yesterday gathered at the foreign ministry for Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain to clear the air, but he did not speak.

"You have to wait for some days," he told reporters before moving towards his vehicle shortly after 5:00pm yesterday.

According to a high official of the foreign ministry, it has been decided that Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin will be removed from the post. There are several options: either he will be put on special duty (OSD), posted as an ambassador, or made rector of the Foreign Service Academy.

He did not explain why Jashim Uddin will be removed from the post.

"You can ask the foreign adviser," he told this correspondent.

This correspondent spoke to a number of officials who said they were in an uneasy situation over the reported decision of removing foreign secretary.

"This is a bad precedent. You campaign against an official and then the government decides to remove him. If the government does not deal with such issues with a strong hand, the officials will not be confident about the leadership," an official said, "This will create a sense of mistrust within the colleagues and impact the functioning of the ministry."

Meanwhile, former ambassador Sufiur Rahman has yet to join the foreign ministry even after a month of his appointment as Chief Adviser's Special Assistant.

According to a circular issued by the Cabinet Division on April 20, he will discharge his duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In line with the Rules of Business 1996, he has been vested with the executive authority in the ministry to assist the chief adviser.

Sufiur Rahman served as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. Earlier, he served as Bangladesh's ambassador to both Australia and Myanmar. He also worked in various capacities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India.

Asked about it, foreign ministry director general (admin) Abul Hasan Mridha told The Daily Star he received no information from the high-ups on that matter.

Asked why he did not join the foreign ministry, Sufiur Rahman refused to comment.

A foreign ministry official said there are both opinions – for and against Sufiur Rahman's joining the foreign ministry.

Asked, former ambassador M Humayun Kabir said removal of a sitting foreign secretary is unprecedented, and there are both internal and external factors at play.

"We need to remember that we have never experienced the situation of August 5 and the events of pre and post August 5," he said.

After such events, societal expectation changes and the government needs to act accordingly, he said.

"The ministry needs to act professionally and proactively, instead of being defensive and reactive," said Humayun Kabir, also president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute.

"We need to remember that we are in a turbulent world now. We are facing challenges in our relationship with our neighbouring countries. We need to maintain integrity," he said.

He suggested that the Chief Adviser's Office and the foreign ministry maintain strong coordination in the handling of external affairs as well as internal integrity.