Foreign ministry summons Pak HC over staff ‘disappearance’

The government on Tuesday summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka and handed over a diplomatic note protesting at the incident of the Bangladesh High Commission staff in Islamabad gone ‘missing’.
Acting foreign secretary Khurshed Alam summoned the high commissioner Shuja Alam at the foreign ministry and enquired about the reasons behind the BHC staff’s disappearance. Foreign ministry secretary (bilateral) Mizanur Rahman was also present at the meeting held for about one hour, starting from about 1pm on Tuesday.
Jahangir Hossain, personal officer of Press Counsellor Iqbal Hossain at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, reportedly went ‘missing’ after 6 pm Islamabad time on Monday.
His family contacted the BHC in Islamabad who contacted Pakistan foreign ministry and law enforcing agencies to know his whereabouts. He, however, returned safely after about seven hours.
Diplomats said Hossain reported to the Bangladesh mission that he was picked up by an unidentified group of people who kept him confined at an unknown place.
When approached after the meeting with the two secretaries, Shuja Alam declined to comment on the meeting.
Asked about the incident, he said he saw news about the disappearance in the Bangladesh media. He said he would enquire with Pakistan authorities and inform the Bangladesh authorities in Dhaka.
Jahangir Hossain went ‘missing’ within minutes after Bangladesh police released a Pakistan High Commission official, who was picked up from Gulshan and kept detained for almost the same period (seven hours) of time on Monday.
Abrar Ahmed Khan, assistant private secretary to Pakistan High Commission counsellor [press] Ambreen Jan, was picked up by law men at about 11 am on Monday as detectives noted his ‘suspicious movement’. Abrar was released at about 6pm after the high commission second secretary [admin] Jamil Akhtar Khan gave an undertaking. The PHC condemned the incident in a press release.
Asked if there was any tension in relations between the two countries, the high commissioner said he spoke only about ‘good things’.  However, he hoped relations between the two countries would improve in the coming days.
When asked about what the two secretaries conveyed to the high commissioner, Mizanur Rahman said they would make the matter public in a press release later.
Bangladesh withdrew Moushumi Rahman, counselor (Political) from its Islamabad mission in early January at the request of Pakistan.
Earlier in December last year Pakistan had to withdraw its second secretary Fareena Arshad from Dhaka amid allegations that she aided militants in Bangladesh.
Fareena was the second staff of the Pakistan High Commission withdrawn from Dhaka last year.
In January last year, Pakistan had withdrawn Mohammad Mazhar Khan, a non-diplomatic staff, upon being asked by Bangladesh government. Khan, an attaché of the mission left Dhaka as Bangladesh intelligence found his involvement in terror financing.

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