ISLAMABAD (APP) – In a fresh diplomatic row between Pakistan and Bangladesh, a Pakistani High Commission official based in Dhaka was declared persona non grata by the Bangladeshi government and was asked to leave the country.
“Diplomatic official Mazhar Khan was charged by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry of running an illegal Indian currency business in Dhaka beside alleged links with militants,” a diplomatic source said. Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Aslam also confirmed the incident and said the official has reached Islamabad. The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka sent Mazhar Khan immediately home after getting orders from Bangladesh’s ministry of foreign affairs.
Sources also said the high commission in Dhaka has not only been under pressure due to the incident but is also being closely watched by Bangladeshi secret services. Relations between the two countries have recently been at a low point. In January, Bangladeshi police arrested four suspected members of Islamic State in Dhaka including a regional coordinator for the militant group who told police they had been trained in Pakistan. Tensions have also risen between the two countries over executions carried out by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina against alleged war criminals from the 1971 war.
In December 2013, Pakistan’s envoy in Dhaka had been summoned by the govt regarding a resolution adopted by the Pakistani parliament condemning the execution of Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla “for his involvement in alleged war crimes of 1971”.
