Advisers begin vacating official residences, surrendering diplomatic passports

Advisers of the interim government have begun vacating their official residences and surrendering diplomatic passports to the relevant authorities ahead of the upcoming election next week.

According to official sources, at least two advisers have already vacated government-provided residences, while three advisers and one senior official appointed on contract have returned their diplomatic passports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Md Asaduzzaman, director of the Directorate of Government Accommodation, told The Business Standard yesterday (1 February) that his office had received a letter from an adviser confirming the vacating of an official residence.

"The adviser mentioned in the letter that he vacated the residence on 31 January," he said.

The sources said that Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Power and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan have formally notified the authorities about vacating their residences.

In addition, Adilur Rahman, Fouzul Kabir, Primary and Mass Education Adviser Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, and Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam have surrendered their diplomatic passports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at an event organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh, yesterday (1 February), Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said several advisers were returning their diplomatic passports early to facilitate visa processing for future foreign travel. He added that neither he nor his wife had yet surrendered their diplomatic passports.

Housing ministry sources said several other advisers are also expected to vacate their official residences and return diplomatic passports ahead of the 13th National Parliamentary Election scheduled for 12 February.

However, accommodation directorate sources said, as of 1 February, former advisers Asif Mahmud and Mahfuz Alam had not officially vacated their government residences, despite having resigned from the Advisory Council nearly two months earlier.

Both submitted their resignation letters to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on 10 December, which were accepted the following day.

After media reports highlighted the issue on 28 January, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain posted a photograph of a document related to the "house handover" on his Facebook page on 31 January.

He wrote that although government rules allow a two-month stay, he had vacated the residence within 20 days of resigning and had been subjected to a "media trial".

Housing ministry sources, however, said the residence was not officially handed over in full compliance with established procedures.

Mahfuj Alam has not made any public statements regarding the matter.

An official of the accommodation directorate, speaking on condition of anonymity, said existing policies allow government officials and employees to stay in official residences for up to two months after retirement, with an extension of up to four months if their children are enrolled in educational institutions.

The policy, however, does not clearly specify provisions for ministers or advisers.

Under existing rules, ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers and advisers are allocated official residences in Dhaka through the Directorate of Government Accommodation and must return them within the stipulated time after resignation or the end of their tenure according to government directives.

Similarly, advisers and other senior officials receive diplomatic passports for the duration of their term, which must be cancelled or returned upon resignation or the end of service, after which they are required to apply for general passports.

Officials concerned said the recent moves indicate that the interim government is preparing to hand over responsibilities to an elected government swiftly after the election.