Maushumi reaches Lisbon

Maushumi Rahman, counsellor (political) at Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad, reached Portugal yesterday to take up her new diplomatic assignment at the Bangladesh mission in Lisbon.

"She reached Lisbon this afternoon and will join [work] next week," Imtiaz Ahmed, Bangladesh ambassador to Portugal told The Daily Star by phone.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Islamabad and requested to "withdraw" Maushumi Rahman, who was also head of chancery in Islamabad, within 48-hours, without citing any reason.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry, which foresaw "some sort of retaliation" following withdrawal of the Pakistani diplomat Farina Arshad from Dhaka on December 23, prepared for Maushumi's fresh posting in Lisbon.

"We were prepared and that helped us make the quick decision to send her on a fresh diplomatic assignment," said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.