When Hasina’s government was ousted in a popular uprising in 2024 and replaced by a caretaker cabinet, public pressure in the country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel led to official announcements that the clause would be reinstated
DNA
DHAKA: Bangladesh will start printing new passports with the “except Israel” clause this month and expects to begin issuing them in October, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday, after ordering the restoration of the phrase that was removed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Until 2021, Bangladeshi passports carried the sentence: “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.” When authorities rolled out a new travel document, the phrase was removed without any public notice.
When Hasina’s government was ousted in a popular uprising in 2024 and replaced by a caretaker cabinet, public pressure in the country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel led to official announcements that the clause would be reinstated.
But the official decision was only made by the new, elected administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who took office in late February.
“We issued the official order on Sunday regarding the new Bangladeshi passport, which will reintroduce the clause: ‘This passport is valid for all countries of the world, except Israel.’ The printing work of the new passports will begin this month,” Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, additional secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, told Arab News.
“We hope that people will receive these new passports from this October.”
Pressure to reinstate the clause has been mounting since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
“This change in the passport will reflect the political commitment of the government, express our solidarity with the people of Palestine, and let the world know that we stand beside the Palestinian people,” Ahmed said.
“This new decision regarding our passports will uphold the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.”
