The government has decided to cancel the red passports of Sheikh Hasina, all former ministers of her deposed government, and lawmakers following the dissolution of both her cabinet and the 12th parliament, reports Daily Sun.
“The government has taken a decision in principle to revoke all red passports held by Sheikh Hasina, former ministers, and lawmakers. The decision is expected to be finalised tomorrow (Thursday),” Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan, senior information officer of the Security Services Division of the Home Ministry, told the media on Wednesday evening.
However, the red passports of very important personnel at various embassies and missions in Bangladesh will not be cancelled, he said.
It may be pointed out that the Bangladesh government issues three types of passports. These are Diplomatic passports with a red cover, official passports with a blue cover and ordinary passports with a green cover.
Earlier in the day, an official of the Department of Immigration and Passports made a similar hint, following the dissolution of the cabinet and the 12th parliament.
The official wishing not to be named said that Sheikh Hasina, who resigned as prime minister and fled to India amid a student-led mass upsurge on 5 August, maintains a valid official red passport until now.
“We have initiated the process to revoke the official passports of Sheikh Hasina and other members of her dissolved cabinet following her resignation. As per the law, they are no longer entitled to hold the official passports,” said the senior official.
When asked about the current status of Sheikh Hasina's passport, the official mentioned that she still holds a valid official passport, but the process to cancel it is expected to be completed within a day or two.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
