'I don't have foreign passport'

FT ONLINE

Wading into the controversy over BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s passport status, Prime Minister's ICT Affairs Adviser (and son) Sajeeb Wazed Joy announced on Monday that he does not have any foreign passport.

"I don't have any foreign passport. I have permanent residency in the US. I travel proudly on my green Bangladesh passport," Joy said, through a status update on his verified account on social network Facebook.

Sharing a news report on State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam’s defence of earlier statements with regard to Tarique Rahman’s citizenship status, he also denounced the BNP as “thoroughly dishonest”.

"You cannot believe anything coming out of any of their (BNP) mouths," he added.

The news report Joy shared contained what appear to be scans of one of Tarique Rahman's passports along with a copy of a letter sent by the British Home Office to the Bangladesh High Commission accompanying the passports of Tarique and his family.

It remains unclear under what circumstances the Home Office came to be in possession of the passports, or indeed why they were forwarded on to the High Commission either.

Joy’s clarification regarding his US citizenship status would support the view that there is no relation between one’s passport and citizenship status.

Earlier Shahriar Alam was challenged by BNP to prove Tarique gave up Bangladeshi citizenship by submitting his passport to the British Home Office.