The government has backed away from its directive to foreign missions to monitor journalists travelling abroad, saying it was “not appropriately coordinated.”
The ministry admitted that the directive, under which the foreign missions would have to monitor activities of Bangladeshis journalists and report back to Dhaka, had no mechanism of surveillance.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Thursday said he was not aware of any such directive, but added that journalists should support it “since it intends to maintain our national interest.”
“It is our duty to watch over everyone who travels abroad but that does not mean that we are bringing them under any control mechanism,” the minister added.
The parliamentary standing committee on the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed concern over the spread of wrong information about Bangladesh due to the negative activities of the journalists travelling abroad.
The standing committee said journalists should be monitored so that the missions can report to Dhaka if their activities are found to be against the interest of the country.
A Foreign Ministry source said the issue came up following the recent visit of Bangladeshi journalists to Pakistan at the invitation of Islamabad.
Also read: Govt to keep an eye on Bangladeshi journalists travelling abroad
Thursday, June 04, 2026
