Dhaka slaps travel ban on BNP leader for Israel link

The Bangladesh government on Sunday slapped a travel ban on a leader of the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) over his recent meeting with an Israeli politician in India amid allegations that the party was trying to grab power through an unholy alliance with the Jewish state.

“Yes, we have ordered a ban on Aslam Chowdhury’s travel abroad. An order has also been issued to track him down as he appears to have gone into hiding,“ Chittagong police commissioner Iqbal Bahar said, adding that he will be arrested wherever and whenever he is sighted. The commissioner’s comments came a day after another senior police officer said that they launched an investigation into the BNP’s reported connection with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

Bangladesh does not have any diplomatic relations with Israel and Bangladeshis are banned from travelling there as Dhaka is very vocal against alleged Israeli atrocities in Palestine. “We (Bangladesh) cannot think of relations with Israel,” junior foreign minister Shahriar Alam said.

Mr Chowdhury’s reported meeting with the Israeli official sparked uproar in Bangladeshi media and political circles after he was seen in several photographs with a leader of Israel’s ruling Likud party on Facebook during a conference in India.