Pakistan expels Bangladeshi diplomat

DHAKA (TIP): In a tit-for-tat, Pakistan has expelled a Bangladeshi woman diplomat and asked her to leave the country by Thursday, days after a Pakistani woman diplomat was sent packing over accusations of having links with the banned Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh militant group.

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 5.45.18 PMPakistan’s foreign office has issued an order for the expulsion of Bangladeshi diplomat Moushumi Rahman, a counsellor and head of chancery in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Samaa TV reported.

Islamabad’s move came apparently in a retaliation to the expulsion of its diplomat from Dhaka in December.

A Bangladeshi foreign ministry official preferring anonymity said in Dhaka that Pakistan had on Tuesday summoned Bangladesh’s high commissioner in Islamabad Sohrab Hossain.

“Moushumi Rahman accompanied our high commissioner to Pakistan’s foreign ministry where a senior officer of theirs verbally asked (Hossain) to send Moushumi back to Dhaka by Thursday, citing no reason,” the official said.

Bangladesh on Wednesday deplored the Pakistani counter-action. “This appears to be a face-saving move in the part of Pakistan as it was forced to recall a diplomat of theirs…” state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said. However, Samaa TV reported that the Bangladeshi diplomat was expelled for “violation of diplomatic norms”. (PTI)

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