How Pakistan envoy's exit from Bangladesh amid ‘honeytrap scandal' risks the 2 nations' improving ties
The report said the Pakistan High Commission has confirmed that Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Asif will serve as the acting high commissioner, but did not specify the duration of Maroof's leave in their official communication.
Maroof's sudden departure followed purpoted photos and videos featuring him and a woman, said to be a senior Bangladesh Bank official, going viral on social media, sparking allegations of a possible honeytrap scandal. 'On the same day, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka formally informed Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs of his departure,' Bangladeshi news portal Prothom Alo quoted a senior foreign ministry official as saying.
Dhaka: Even as Operation Sindoor was underway, a full-blown diplomatic scandal broke out between Pakistan and Bangladesh over an alleged honeytrap scandal involving a top diplomat. Syed Ahmed Maroof, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh since December 2023, left Dhaka for Islamabad via Dubai on 11 May in an Emirates flight.
The report, however, added that the Pakistan High Commission 'unofficially' indicated that Maroof is expected to be on leave for 2 weeks.
Speaking to ThePrint, Bangladeshi journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon said that this comes as a big blow to the improving relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan as Syed Ahmed Maroof has played an important role in bringing the two countries together after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August, 2024, following a mass uprising.
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Anatomy of a scandal
According to Khokon, the woman in question whose pictures and videos posing with Syed Ahmed Maroof are all over social media has an apartment in Dhaka where the High Commissioner and his friend Azhar Mahmud were allegedly frequent visitors. He added that public attention was drawn largely because the woman herself had shared several of these photos with Maroof on her social media accounts. 'The pictures have now been deleted from her feed but they have been picked up by other users and gone viral ever since the scandal broke,' Khokon said.
In its report, Bangladeshi news outlet Kalbela identified the woman as a high-level Bangladesh Bank official. When Kalbela reached her for a reaction, she admitted that she has known Maroof for a long time and been to many public events with him. She added that she has not levelled any charges against him and that she is in close touch with high commissioners of other embassies as well.
Addressing rumours of their recent visit to Cox's Bazar, she told Kalbela she had gone to the tourist spot to vacation with members of her family, while Maroof was there with his family. It was a chance meeting between them at Cox's Bazar.
In a Facebook post that has now gone viral, Bangladeshi influencer and political commentator Aminul Hoque Polash has said Maroof was no ordinary high commissioner but an important asset for Pakistan in the changing geo-politics of the region.
'In the last nine months, Maroof has crisscrossed the entire country, conducted hundreds of meetings, given press interviews and firmly established himself as an important player in Bangladesh's current affairs. Officials and the Pakistan embassy were aware of their closeness as she was a regular visitor at the embassy building,' Polash wrote.
A highly-placed source in the intelligence agencies had told ThePrint that before Operation Sindoor, Bangladesh had undertaken a series of rather unusual strategic measures.
A high-level delegation comprising senior members of the Pakistan Army and intelligence services had visited Bangladesh on 23 January, 2025, under strict confidentiality. The delegation toured several air bases and military facilities and held meetings with high-ranking officials of the Bangladesh government. The Bangladeshi delegation reportedly expressed significant interest in acquiring Pakistan's advanced military equipment, particularly the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.
Earlier, on 21 December, 2024, the source said, a Pakistani ship had docked at the Chittagong Port, carrying around 678 sealed containers. While a few of them contained sugar, soda, three-piece suits, and potatoes to avoid scrutiny, around 580 containers were secretly transported to the Chittagong Cantonment. The operation was overseen by Major General Mir Mushfiqur Rahman of the General Officer Commanding, 24 Infantry Division and Area Commander, Chittagong Area, Chittagong Cantonment.
In view of this, Khokon said to ThePrint that Bangladesh should not let this slide and investigate Maroof.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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