Peter Haas returns Dhaka after 12 days

Staff Reporter  :
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas returned Dhaka on Monday after 12 days of his departure from here.

The envoy arrived in the capital Dhaka on a regular flight of Sri Lankan Airlines at around 11:50, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport sources said.

However, there is no immediate official statement whether he has returned from Sri Lanka or any other destinations,
including the possibility of using Colombo as a transit point.

Before leaving his station in Dhaka, he informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh following the diplomatic rules and regulations.

Before his departure, the media reports and speculations said that he had gone on holidays for Sri Lanka on Oct 16.

However, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin informed the journalists that the Foreign Ministry knew about his whereabouts but would not make it public as per diplomatic norms.

She said when any ambassador leaves station, he/she follows protocol and informs the host country through diplomatic letter. In their absence, someone else is put in charge.

Before leaving Dhaka, Peter Haas had whirlwind of meetings with different stakeholders, including ruling Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party, urging the political parties to sit together to resolve the current political impasse.

Even he had meetings with the representatives of World Bank and International Monetary Fund in his residence.

Peter Haas has been a familiar name in the political circle across the country as he has been advocating his country policy for free and fair election in Bangladesh.

For doing this, he even received threats of killing from the ruling party grassroots level leaders. Even a case was filed with the court, but it was rejected.

On November 6, Chattogram’s Banshkhali upazila’s Chambal union chairman and Union Awami League convener Mujibul Haque Chowdhury threatened to beat Peter Haas.

Following such remarks, the State Department also said, “Safety and security of our diplomatic personnel and our diplomatic facilities is of utmost importance. I think such kind of violent rhetoric is deeply unhelpful.”