Govt probes ex-speaker Shirin’s passport process: Shafiqul

The government is conducting a thorough investigation into the process by which former Awami League lawmaker and recently resigned Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, along with her husband Syed Ishtiaq Hossain, reportedly completed their passport applications from home, said Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Md Shafiqul Alam. 

He made this statement in response to a question about passports during a press conference this evening at the Foreign Service Academy auditorium in Dhaka.

Deputy Press Secretaries to the Chief Adviser Abul Kalam Azad Mazumdar and Apurba Jahangir were also present at the press conference.

A news published in the daily Desh Rupantor on Tuesday reported that following the fall of the Awami League government due to a popular uprising, the interim government decided to cancel the red passports of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other ministers and MPs of the ousted government. Consequently, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury's red passport was also revoked.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has been named as an accused in a murder case involving the death of 38-year-old Muslim Uddin, a goldsmith, who was killed by gunfire during a protest in Rangpur. To avoid arrest, the former parliament speaker reportedly applied for a standard e-passport with her husband at the passport office in Agargaon, Dhaka, on 3 October.

They were scheduled to provide their fingerprints and iris scans on October 10. However, it has been alleged that they submitted these biometrics from home, contradicting the official procedure, which requires these steps to be completed in person at the passport office.

Shafiqul Alam at the press conference said, "We are thoroughly investigating this entire incident."