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Published : 16 Nov 2025, 01:58 AM
Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has rejected reports about appointing Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs Lamiya Morshed, Special Envoy for International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi, and his sister Husna Siddiqi as ambassadors, calling the claims “baseless”.
He made the statement on Facebook on Saturday, in response to a report published two days earlier in the Manab Zamin newspaper that suggested the three were to be appointed ambassadors.
As discussion around the report grew, the newspaper published a follow-up story citing Lamia’s comments.
Sharing the link of the second story, Shafiqul wrote: “The news published by Daily Manab Zamin is completely baseless, false and intentional.”
He added, “The report, without any source and based on imagination, claimed that the interim government wants to appoint them ambassadors in different countries. The report also said professional diplomats are being sacrificed to fulfil their ‘desire to become ambassadors’.”
The chief advisor's press aide said: “The report, which lacks minimum journalistic ethics, responsibility and professionalism, compared the dignified post of ambassador with ‘eating butter’ and their imagined appointment with the phrase ‘picking from the ground while eating from the tree’, which is extremely insulting and condemnable for all concerned.”
He noted that using such language and making “unfounded” allegations clearly reflected “personal resentment and a deliberate intent”.
Responding to Manab Zamin’s claim that its report had been based on initial discussions within the relevant office, he said that assertion, too, had no basis.
Shafiqul said it was “inconceivable” for any responsible newsroom to publish such a story using derogatory language without reliable sourcing, arguing that the paper had reduced itself to “a third-tier outlet” for failing to issue an apology.
He called the report “defamatory”, urging the publication to withdraw it immediately and issue a formal expression of regret.
Separate reports in multiple outlets have recently claimed that Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Niaz Ahmed is being prepared for appointment as ambassador to Denmark.
Shafiqul did not address that claim in his post.
