Dhaka– Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof, has quietly left the country and gone on indefinite leave, sparking widespread speculation and diplomatic chatter from Dhaka to Islamabad over what sources are calling a scandal that brought “shame” to Pakistan.
According to Bangladeshi media reports citing sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maroof departed Dhaka on May 11 via Emirates Airlines, transiting through Dubai en route to Pakistan. Notably, he was given no official protocol during his departure, indicating the covert and abrupt nature of his exit. The Pakistan High Commission has not issued an official statement.
In his absence, Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Asif is serving as Acting High Commissioner, as per diplomatic protocol.
Social media and political circles have been rife with speculation that Maroof, who took up his post in December 2023, was recalled over a scandal involving a Bangladeshi woman identified as Hafiza Haque Shah, a senior official at a local bank. Reports suggest that Shah was a regular visitor to the High Commission, and the relationship drew heightened scrutiny following a recent trip by Maroof to Cox’s Bazar.
“During his latest visit, the nature of their relationship became too conspicuous to ignore,” an official said on condition of anonymity. “Pakistan had no choice but to recall him to avoid further diplomatic embarrassment.”
Sources indicate that Maroof traveled to Cox’s Bazar on May 8 and was scheduled to return by May 10. It was his second visit to the area in three months. On a previous trip in February, he was accompanied by his wife but also reportedly held meetings with members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), both groups under international scrutiny for alleged extremist links. The meeting was reportedly attended by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman.
The very next day, on February 8, Jamaat-e-Islami held its first workers’ conference in Cox’s Bazar in 16 years, fueling further speculation about Maroof’s activities and political engagements in the country.
Over the past nine months, Maroof is said to have traveled extensively across Bangladesh, meeting with fringe political and religious groups in what intelligence sources believe was an effort to expand Pakistan’s influence through ideological outreach and soft power.
This marks the third high-profile recall of Pakistani diplomats from Bangladesh in less than a decade. In January 2015, Mazhar Khan, an official at the Pakistani High Commission, was expelled for allegedly funding Islamist extremists and distributing counterfeit currency. Later that same year, Second Secretary Farina Arshad was withdrawn after she was accused of links to the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The Pakistani mission in Dhaka has faced repeated scrutiny over allegations of subversive activities, with Maroof’s hasty departure adding to a growing history of controversy surrounding Islamabad’s diplomatic presence in Bangladesh. (Source: IANS)
