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News18
23-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Bangladesh Recalls Envoy Who Banned Eid Sacrifice At Kolkata Mission
Last Updated: Shabab Bin Ahmed's directive to stop the decades-old Bakrid sacrifice at the Kolkata Consulate triggered internal dissent, prompting Dhaka to cancel his posting. The interim government of Bangladesh led by Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus has cancelled the appointment of senior diplomat Shabab Bin Ahmed to the Kolkata Consulate after his directive banning the sacrifice of cows and goats on Eid al-Adha triggered backlash within the mission. Ahmed had defended his decision and pointed out that the practice posed sanitation issues and was not followed by any other Bangladeshi missions abroad. 'We must consider the local environment and the context where we are posted… We should respect the customs of the host country," he said. The order led to widespread discontent among staff, prompting the Foreign Office to recall him to Dhaka immediately, according to reports in Dhaka-based newspaper Prothom Alo. Ahmed, who was due to take charge as Bangladesh's Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata in early June, had issued the directive even before formally assuming office. His order to stop the decades-old practice of qurbani on the Consulate premises reportedly found no support among staff members, who cautioned him about the sensitivity of the move. The tradition, observed at the mission for over 30 years, includes meat distribution to the local community. Ahmed, who was scheduled to take charge in the first week of June, which had coincided with Eid al-Adha, had circulated the directive around the same time, raising questions about its intent and timing. Local Bangladeshi news outlets quoted him as saying that no other Bangladeshi mission abroad observes qurbani on Eid and that the practice also leads to sanitation issues in the surrounding area. Ahmed was previously posted in The Hague and was appointed to Kolkata after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in 2024. His formal appointment to the Kolkata post was slated for November 21, 2024, following his tenure at the Bangladesh Embassy in The Hague. Ties between India and Bangladesh have since remained tense under the Yunus-led interim regime, which has faced criticism for failing to contain radical groups spreading anti-India rhetoric. First Published: May 23, 2025, 22:04 IST
India Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
No-qurbani order at Kolkata consulate gets envoy punished by Yunus govt
The interim government of Muhammad Yunus has punished its senior diplomat, Shabab Bin Ahmed, by cancelling his appointment to the Kolkata Consulate after he issued directives banning the "sacrifice (qurbani) of cows and goats" on the premises during Eid al-Adha or Bakrid, reported Dhaka-based newspaper Prothom order triggered a controversy, following which Ahmed was on Thursday directed by Bangladesh's Foreign Office to report back to Dhaka who was scheduled to take charge as Bangladesh's Deputy High Commissioner at the Kolkata Consulate in the first week of June -- coinciding with the festival of Eid al-Adha -- had issued a directive to stop the practice of animal sacrifice even before assuming office. He directed officials at the Kolkata mission to initiate measures to halt animal sacrifice. Despite the staff at the consulate reportedly cautioning him about the sensitivity of the matter, he chose to disregard their concerns, said the report. "We, as diplomats, serve our country. We must consider the local environment and the context where we are posted... We should respect the customs of the host country. It is essential for diplomats to earn the trust of the host nation," Shabab Bin Ahmed earlier said, defending his qurbani-ban Bangladeshi news outlets quoted the diplomat as saying that no other Bangladeshi mission outside Kolkata observes qurbani on Bakrid, and that it causes sanitation issues in the was posted at the Bangladesh Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, and was assigned to take over as the Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Counsulate on November 21, 2024, months after the regime of ousted PM Sheikh Hasina was toppled by student protests, hijacked by Islamists in August the tradition of animal sacrifice at the Bangladesh Consulate in Kolkata has been observed for over 30 years, according to Prothom Alo. Each year, several cows and goats are sacrificed, with a significant portion of the meat distributed within the local community, according to Bin Ahmed's directive to ban qurbani reportedly triggered discontent among the mission staff, with no one supporting his news outlets said that the Deputy High Commissioner's decision to discontinue a longstanding practice even before taking charge officially created discontent among the Consulate's decision to direct the diplomat to Dhaka comes even as ties between Bangladesh and India remain frosty after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime and the Yunus-led interim government releasing terrorists and not reigning in Islamist radicals who are amplifying anti-India Watch
