Dhaka: What was Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof up to while his country was engaged in combat with India?
According to reports in Bangladesh, Maroof was caught red-handed with a young woman in a hotel in Cox’s Bazar on May 9, barely two days after India launched Operation Sindoor against terror installations in his country.
Maroof has apparently left on ‘indefinite leave’ to Islamabad. He left Dhaka on Sunday and the information of his departure was conveyed to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the meantime, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Muhammad Asif will serve as the acting High Commissioner.
According to a report by BD Digest, Maroof was caught inside Hotel Sea Pearl in Cox’s Bazar with a young woman. The woman has been identified as Hafiza Haq Shah, who was assistant director in the Foreign Exchange Department of the Bangladesh Bank.
The inappropriate nature of her relationship with Maroof was exposed in the hotel. Hafiza has apparently deactivated her Facebook account, which had her photographs with Maroof, after the expose. The woman would frequently visit the Pakistani embassy and the High Commissioner, it has been reported.
The Pakistan embassy is yet to issue a formal statement on this matter. There have been claims of the Pakistani diplomat being honey-trapped and his MMS being leaked onto social media. Some users have also suggested that Maroof has escaped to a third country like Thailand in the midst of the allegations. Maroof was appointed as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh in December 2023.
