Members of the interim government’s Advisory Council have started surrendering their diplomatic (red) passports ahead of the end of the government’s tenure. At least eight advisers have already submitted their diplomatic passports and applied for ordinary passports.

Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move was taken as a precautionary measure to avoid any legal or official complications related to overseas travel following the transfer of power.

According to the officials concerned, between January 20 and February 2, several advisers applied for ordinary passports instead of retaining their special diplomatic passports. Those who have applied include Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul; Home Affairs Adviser Major General (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury; Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan; Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar; Power and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan; Information and Broadcasting and Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan; and Culture Adviser Mustafa Sarwar Farooqui.

The matter first came to public attention on January 29, when Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain spoke about the issue at a view-sharing meeting held at the Dharmarajika Buddhist Mahavihara auditorium in the capital’s Basabo area. He said members of the Advisory Council were prepared to hand over power to an elected government and step down, noting that many advisers had already submitted their diplomatic passports. The meeting was jointly organised by the Buddhist Religious Welfare Trust and the Christian Religious Welfare Trust to promote the referendum and encourage voter participation.

Later, at the closing ceremony of a journalists’ training workshop in Dhaka on Sunday, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain also confirmed that some advisers had surrendered their diplomatic passports. He added that advisers planning to travel abroad had already taken this step.

Responding to a question regarding whether he and his wife had submitted their diplomatic passports, Touhid Hossain said, “My wife and I have not handed over our diplomatic passports. They remain as usual. It is very unusual for a foreign affairs adviser or minister to surrender diplomatic passports during their tenure. However, some advisers have done so due to concerns about traveling abroad. They submitted their passports in advance to facilitate visa processing, and some have already received their ordinary passports.”