The decision has been made to relieve Md. Jashim Uddin from the post of Foreign Secretary. He may join a Bangladeshi ambassadorial post in a North American country, according to several senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided this information on Tuesday (May 20) afternoon. A BCS Foreign Cadre official (15th batch) might be appointed as the Foreign Secretary. Based on this, it is speculated that Md. Nazrul Islam, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will become the Acting Foreign Secretary. Earlier, he served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to Bahrain.
According to some Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, considering the overall situation, Foreign Secretary Md. Jashim Uddin is going on leave for several months. His leave is awaiting approval from the government's policymaking level.
Previously, on Sunday, several officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government's policymaking level, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the current interim government decided to change the Foreign Secretary for the second time after taking office in August 2024. Therefore, Jasim Uddin will no longer hold the position of Foreign Secretary.
Jashim Uddin, a BCS (Foreign Cadre) 13th batch official, took charge as Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 8. Before this, Jashim Uddin served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to China. He is scheduled to go on post-retirement leave in December 2026.
Notably, since Bangladesh's independence in 1971, there have only been three instances in the past five decades where a Foreign Secretary was removed within one year or less of their appointment. Among these, Foreign Secretary Syed Anwarul Karim was removed within six months of his appointment in 1972. Additionally, A.K.H. Morshed was removed after four months in 1989, and Syed Moazzem Ali was removed from the post of Foreign Secretary after five months in 2001.
