AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Bangladesh government has announced that the phrase “except Israel” will once again be included in ordinary passports.
According to Bangladesh media, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told journalists that the condition “except Israel” would be restored in general passports, adding that it has already been implemented in diplomatic passports.
Sources from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Immigration and Passports said that the decision is being reinstated in line with Bangladesh’s long-standing foreign policy on the Palestinian issue, public sentiment, and the country’s moral stance.
Bangladesh media reported that in 2021, during the rule of the Awami League government, the phrase “except Israel” was removed from passports when the e-passport service was launched at a cost of nearly 45 billion taka. The decision drew strong criticism against the government of Sheikh Hasina.
Last year, during the interim government period, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a letter on April 7 directing authorities to restore the phrase “except Israel” in passports. However, at the time, the decision could not be fully implemented beyond diplomatic passports.
It is worth noting that Bangladesh has never had diplomatic relations with Israel, neither in the past nor today. Since its separation from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladeshi passports—like Pakistani passports—traditionally carried the statement: “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”
According to officials, changes are also being made to the watermark images in passports. The new images will include a picture of Abu Saeed with outstretched arms, who is regarded as a symbol of the July public movement. At the same time, several existing images will be removed, including the mausoleum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Mujibnagar Memorial.
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