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Published : 15 Mar 2025, 02:23 AM
The Bangladesh government has announced disciplinary action against Harun Al-Rashid, the recently recalled ambassador to Morocco, for a controversial Facebook post criticising the administration of interim leader Muhammad Yunus.
The foreign ministry claims his post suggests a “hidden agenda” and was intended to “gain sympathy abroad”.
In an official statement on Friday, the ministry said Harun ignored direct orders to return to headquarters and instead travelled to Ottawa.
It described his actions as an attempt to misrepresent the country’s situation under the interim government, alleging that he painted a distorted picture of Bangladesh’s reality.
The ministry strongly condemned his remarks, saying: “His Facebook post completely misrepresents the reality of present-day Bangladesh under the interim government and is deeply concerning. It reflects a hidden agenda with ulterior motives.”
The ministry also accused him of presenting himself as a “persecuted diplomat” and a “secular victim” in an attempt to garner foreign support.
As a consequence, the government has already taken steps to cancel his and his family’s passports and initiate disciplinary measures.
The ministry warned that it will not tolerate similar behaviour from any other officials in the future.
HARUN’S FACEBOOK POST
The ambassador made a lengthy Facebook post titled “A Plea for Bangladesh—and for Myself”, in which he harshly criticised Chief Advisor Yunus’s leadership, claiming Bangladesh had descended into anarchy under his rule.
His post carried the subheading: “Bangladesh’s Descent into Anarchy under Yunus — The World’s Silence Is Painful.”
Harun alleged that terrorist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda flaunt their red and black flags, openly demanding Islamic theocracy.
He claimed that religious minorities and secular individuals were living in fear because of persecution.
Harun accused the interim prime minister of protecting and empowering extremists.
“His government includes terrorists as ministers, and those he couldn’t install, he patronized—allowing them to form a political party.”
He also singled out Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam as a “terrorist”, citing previous allegations that linked him to banned extremist groups.
Official sources, however, have dismissed such claims as rumours and misinformation.
Harun compared the current interim government under Yunus with the previous Awami League administration under Sheikh Hasina.
In just 15 days, he said, the Yunus government had surpassed Hasina’s 15-year tenure in terms of human rights violations.
He further claimed that his diplomatic career was sabotaged because he wrote a novel on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s early years, which, according to him, the Yunus administration found unacceptable.
"As Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Morocco, I was singled out. My ‘crime’? Writing a Bengali novel about Bongobondhu’s early years (1920–1942)—entirely unrelated to later events,” he wrote.
CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION
In his post, Harun urged the global community to act against Yunus.
"I could cite hundreds of examples of the terrors Yunus unleashed. Yet, this is no rhetoric—every claim here is public and provable. Ignoring the truth won’t erase it."
He also warned the West that their continued support for Yunus would reflect poorly in history.
"History will remember Yunus, but not as a hero—only as a swindler who deceived the world and descended into terror.”
Harun concluded by describing himself as:
“A silenced, persecuted diplomat and an exiled novelist.”
He warned that global silence on Yunus’s alleged actions would be condemned by history.
WHO IS HARUN AL-RASHID?
A career diplomat from the 20th Bangladesh Civil Service, or BCS, batch, Harun served in foreign missions, including Rome, Cairo, Mexico City, and Madrid.
Before being posted as ambassador to Morocco in October 2023, he was the deputy high commissioner in Canada.
Following the government change in August 2024, Harun was among the officials accused on social media of being a “collaborator of fascism”.
His novel on Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib was also cited in allegations against him.
The foreign ministry’s statement detailed that Harun had been ordered to return to Bangladesh in December but failed to comply.
Instead, he resigned from his post on Feb 27 and travelled to Ottawa without ministry approval.
Despite a scheduled return on Mar 6, he did not board his flight back to Dhaka.
