Dhaka: Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed announced on Tuesday that he has surrendered his diplomatic passport, indicating that this is a routine measure and not associated with any immediate travel intentions. “I have already submitted it. I am not going anywhere. My health condition is not very good, as you know. I do not attend meetings unless they are extremely urgent,” Dr Salehuddin stated.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Dr Salehuddin clarified to reporters after the Advisers’ Council on Government Procurement meeting that he does not plan to travel abroad unless it is deemed absolutely necessary, due to his health issues. The move to surrender the passport is purely procedural, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain addressed circulating reports about him surrendering his diplomatic passport, categorically denying them. Hossain mentioned that neither he nor his wife has relinquished their diplomatic passports, highlighting that it is unusual for a Foreign Adviser or any Minister to do so while still in office.
Hossain did acknowledge that some of his colleagues have opted for ordinary passports to expedite visa processing in light of travel complications. However, he did not specify who among his colleagues have acquired new passports for this purpose.