The phrase "Except Israel" is being reintroduced to Bangladeshi passports. The BNP government is set to reinstate this phrase, which was removed six years ago during the tenure of the ousted Awami League government.

According to relevant officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, this initiative has been taken in alignment with Bangladesh's foreign policy, public opinion, and the country's long-standing stance on the Palestine issue.

Reinstatement Process Follows Previous Directives
Previously, on April 7 last year during the interim government's tenure, a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the reintroduction of the phrase "Except Israel" in Bangladeshi passports.

The letter, sent to the Director General of the Department of Immigration and Passports, requested that necessary measures be taken to reinstate "Except Israel" in Bangladeshi passports as it was before.

However, that decision by the interim government was not widely implemented beyond diplomatic passports. The current government has now taken the initiative to enforce this across all categories of passports.

Part of Wider Institutional Changes
Following its victory in the 13th National Parliamentary Election, the BNP government assumed office on February 17, after which the process of modifying several aspects of the passport began.

The Ministry of Home Affairs held multiple meetings regarding this in April and early this month. The changes have received the green light from the highest levels of government.

According to Ministry of Home Affairs sources, the Electronic Passport (e-passport) service was launched in 2020 during the Awami League government's tenure at a cost of BDT 4,500 crore. At that time, the phrase "Except Israel" was omitted from the passport.

Prior to that, Bangladeshi passports stated that the passport was valid for all countries of the world except Israel. Since the omission, various quarters had been demanding the re-inclusion of the phrase in e-passports.

Officials from the Department of Immigration and Passports stated that, in accordance with the new directives, the phrase "Except Israel" will be added to new passports in phases.

This will not create any immediate complications for current passport holders; they will receive the updated version of the passport upon renewal once their current validity expires.