Foreign Minister Dipu Moni’s former private secretary Jishnu Roy Choudhury was appointed as Bangladesh Ambassador to Bhutan earlier this week in blatant violation of the cadre composition rule.
Public administration ministry will seek clarification from the foreign ministry on the procedures of the appointment, says a top official.
According to the cadre composition rule, the government can appoint 30% of people from any profession other than career diplomats. The ministry of establishment appoints ambassadors from outside the foreign cadre service, officials say.
The foreign ministry appoints ambassadors from the foreign service.
But the foreign ministry on Wednesday appointed Jishnu Roy Choudhury, an administration cadre official (84 batch), as the new envoy to the Himalayan state. He is serving as an additional secretary (administration) to the foreign ministry.
“We appoint ambassadors from outside the foreign cadre, but I do not know why the foreign ministry appointed him. I will seek clarification from the ministry,” Abdus Sobhan Sikder, secretary to the public administration ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Jishnu Roy Choudhury was deputed as the private secretary to the foreign minister after the Awami League formed a government in January 2009. After his promotion, he was attached as a director general of the ministry and was later promoted to the rank of additional secretary. Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque on Wednesday declined to comment on the issue.
“I see here that the ambassadors are appointed from the foreign ministry. The public administration deputed me to the foreign ministry much earlier. So, I do not see anything wrong with it,” Jishnu Roy Choudhury said.
Former ambassador and career diplomat Humayun Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune that Jishnu Choudhury’s appointment should have been made from the public administration ministry, not from the foreign ministry, according to the cadre composition rule.
Bhutan is a very important place as many projects to boost sub-regional cooperation are in place there, he said.
“So, appointment of a career diplomat would be better given the political importance of the country.”
