Ambassador AKH Morshed was an iconic diplomat, a shining star in the diplomatic firmament of Bangladesh. Born in 1932, he passed away on November 23, 2023, after a fulfilling life spread over 91 years. In his passing, the nation has lost an outstanding diplomat of exceptional calibre and a patriot who has made an enormous contribution to protecting and preserving the national interests of Bangladesh.
Ambassador Morshed joined the erstwhile Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1957 with the distinction of securing first place in the combined examinations for the Civil Services of Pakistan. Incidentally, academic excellence has been his hallmark all along. I gather that in his early school and college days in Calcutta St. Xavier's, he was always a source of pride to his teachers and, unsurprisingly, also a source of envy for his competitor class fellows for sweeping all class prizes as the top student. This is a tradition he upheld all through his academic pursuits, whether at St. John’s College, the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School, or while studying Barrister-at-Law to be called to Bar at Lincoln’s Inn. It is a testimony to his talent and intellectual competence that in 1960, very early in his career as a young diplomat, he was called upon to join as an Adviser to the Indus Commission under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.
In 1972, he joined the fledgling Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the newly emerged sovereign Bangladesh. I have had the privilege of serving with him during the formative years of the Ministry. As Director of the Foreign Minister’s Office, I had the opportunity to witness from a close proximity his participation, interactions, and contribution in the various strategic sessions devoted to the formulation of our foreign policy objectives and strategies to pursue those. With his profound wisdom, unparalleled legal acumen, matchless drafting ability and immense diplomatic skill, Ambassador Morshed significantly contributed to the laying of a solid foundation for the Foreign Ministry as the pivotal institution entrusted to uphold the sovereignty of a newly emerged nation, an everlasting foundation that has stood the test of time. During this early period and beyond, he was looking after our relations with South Asian countries as Director General, South Asia Division; simultaneously, he served as a member of the newly formed Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission. He was also the Legal Expert for the Ministry. A grateful nation will remember the immense contribution he made in these capacities in formulating our foreign policy strategy to safeguard our vital national interests.
A notable aspect of Ambassador Morshed’s character that impressed all who came into contact with him was the ease with which he carried the heavy burden of his knowledge and, more importantly, the humility with which he did so in a self-effacing manner.
Later in the 1980s, Ambassador Morshed served the nation with equal distinction as Additional Foreign Secretary. I had the privilege and honour then to serve with him again for a considerable period in the Ministry as Director General, South Asia Division, looking after our relations with South Asian countries and also as a member of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission. We, in the South Asia Division and the Joint Rivers Commission, inherited and immensely benefited from his insightful analysis on issues affecting our vital interests and strategies to safeguard our national interests.
In later years, Ambassador Morshed effectively represented Bangladesh as our principal representative and negotiator in the UN Water Conference as well as in the Conferences on Non-Navigational Uses of International Water Courses and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In these negotiations, he made a significant contribution to upholding our national interests in these vital areas. He also made a praiseworthy contribution in developing the legal framework for the management of international watercourses and the rights of co-riparian states, as well as for the use and protection of the sea and marine environment, which earned him an international accolade.
Ambassador Morshed also served the nation with remarkable distinction as the top diplomatic assignment in the country, the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh.
A decade later, as Foreign Secretary, I had the privilege of serving once again with him in the Ministry when, after his retirement from the diplomatic service of Bangladesh, he was still advising the Ministry as a Legal Adviser. I have many happy and highly educative memories of working with him. In the discharge of my onerous duties, I have benefited immensely from his wise advice and counsel. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention an amusing protocol-related difference of views that I had with him frequently. For official consultations, I used to visit him in his office room. Every time I did that, he would invariably remonstrate that the protocol stipulated that instead, I should ask him over to the room of the Foreign Secretary, a view I would always politely decline to accept. This was one piece of advice of his—it may be the only one—I never acted upon. To my discomfort, I also found myself being addressed as “Mr. Foreign Secretary” instead of his more affectionate and intimate address of “Shafi” of earlier days. I never succeeded in persuading him to change that mode of address, but then I reckoned that politesse and etiquette were ingrained qualities of Ambassador Morshed deeply embedded in his nature. He was a quintessential gentleman.
My wife, Saiqa, and I join his numerous friends and countless admirers in praying to Allah, in His infinite mercy, to grant the soul of this noble man an abode in Jannatul Firdous. To his son, Waleed, daughters Lamiya and Fazeela, his grandchildren, and all other family members, we convey our deepest condolences. We pray to Allah to give all the members of the bereaved family the strength and fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
