The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed all Bangladeshi diplomatic missions, consulates, and the offices and residences of diplomats abroad to remove portraits of President Md. Shahabuddin.
According to sources, the directive was issued on Friday (August 15) through phone calls to several ambassadors and high commissioners in different regions, rather than through any official letter or email.
The diplomats who received the order were told to communicate the instruction to other missions under their region.
Officials from missions in South Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe said they had not yet received the directive directly.
However, two heads of missions confirmed that they had been informed of the government’s order.
A senior diplomat, requesting anonymity, said: “The government has directed the removal of President Md. Shahabuddin’s portraits from missions, consulates, and the offices and residences of diplomats abroad. The message was not delivered formally in writing, but rather over the phone by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those informed have been asked to relay the instruction to other missions and oversee its implementation.”
Another diplomat added: “In our region, the ambassador responsible did not inform us directly. Instead, another ambassador from a nearby mission conveyed the instruction on his behalf.”
