Turmoil In Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Replaced Amidst Tussle With Muhammad Yunus

The Bangladesh Interim Government has replaced the Foreign Secretary following his differences with Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on policy matters. In September last year, the Bangladesh government appointed Md Jashim Uddin as the 27th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. Sources say the Yunus-led interim government is at loggerheads with the Foreign Secretary, a career diplomat who joined the service in 1994, over the humanitarian corridor that the Yunus Government wants to establish. Even the Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker is opposed to the idea, and the army chief feels that any such decision must be taken by an elected government. Jashim Uddin had also raised the issue of dues with Pakistan counterpart Amana Baloch during the Foreign Secretary level talks earlier, which did not go down well with Muhammad Yunus, who is pro-Pakistan and wants to build stronger ties with Pakistan with the support of Islamic hardliners in Bangladesh using the students' movement as a front.