Khondker M Talha, the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh High Commission in London, has been withdrawn and ordered to join the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Dhaka before May 7.
The government move has come two months after the attack of UK BNP supporters on the high commission.
A diplomatic source told UNB that the government did not show any reason behind the withdrawal of Talha, who has been in London for nearly three years and eight months.
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He is expected to return home on May 3.
Meanwhile, the government has also formed a high-profile body to look into the February 7 attack.
Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Masud Bin Momen has been made head of the probe committee, another source told UNB without elaborating the composition of the committee.
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During the attack, Talha was acting Bangladesh high commissioner in London.
Leaders and activists of BNP attacked the staff of the high commission and ransacked its furniture, which the government said was tantamount to an attack on Bangladesh.
The sudden attack was carried out in the afternoon of February 7, a day before the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others.
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Khaleda, also a former prime minister, was jailed for five years they next day after she was found guilty in the case. Tarique and the four others were also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and fined Tk2.1 crore each.
The attack at the Bangladesh High Commission in London had taken place in presence of police.
The high commission in a statement later said the BNP activists and members of its wings forcibly entered the mission in the pretext of submitting a memorandum. They attacked the mission staff and vandalized assets.
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"Bangladesh High Commission in London represents Bangladesh in the UK. So, damaging high commission's asset is like damaging state assets, and attack on the high commission is tantamount to attack on Bangladesh," the mission had said in the statement read out by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at press conference in Dhaka on February 8.
Such destructive activities by the unruly demonstrators and their conducts tarnished Bangladesh's image abroad, the high commission had said.
Sunday, May 18, 2025
