No Orders, Yet President's Photos Vanish from Bangladesh Missions

In a curious twist, Bangladesh’s diplomatic missions, consulates, and diplomats’ offices and residences worldwide have quietly removed President Md. Shahabuddin’s portraits without any formal written directive from the Foreign Ministry. Instead, an unwritten “zero portrait policy” has taken hold over the past few months, leaving diplomats to interpret subtle cues from Dhaka. The intrigue deepened on Sunday, August 17, 2025, as ministry officials confirmed the trend, while a lone presidential photo was spotted lingering in the ministry’s Segunbagicha cafeteria lounge.

A senior diplomat stationed abroad, speaking anonymously to a news agency, spilled the tea: “No written orders came from headquarters, but you’ve got to read the room.” They explained that after the August 5, 2024, political shift, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s photos were swiftly removed from missions. Multiple online meetings with mission heads followed, and when the Foreign Ministry itself went portrait-free, diplomats took it as a signal to ditch the president’s photos too. “Most missions adopted this ‘zero portrait’ vibe months ago,” the diplomat dished.

A senior Foreign Ministry official, keeping it brief with UNB, simply said, “Yes,” confirming that 70 of Bangladesh’s 82 missions and sub-missions have already removed Shahabuddin’s portraits. The rest have been verbally instructed to follow suit, with no prior formal policy in place. However, the ministry dismissed rumors of ousting the president himself. Sources revealed that on Friday, August 15, 2025, verbal orders were relayed via phone to select regional ambassadors and high commissioners, who then passed the word to other missions. No official letters or emails were sent, adding to the hush-hush nature of the move.

Major missions in the US, UK, and India had already cleared out Shahabuddin’s photos post-August 5, 2024, when the interim government took over. Smaller missions, slower to act, got recent verbal nudges. A ministry source confirmed that while most complied, the cafeteria lounge at Dhaka’s Foreign Ministry still sports a presidential portrait, spotted on August 17 in the space reserved for professional diplomats.

Checks with missions in South Asia, Africa, and Europe revealed patchy compliance—some haven’t received the directive yet. At least two mission heads confirmed getting the memo, with one diplomat noting, “Dhaka told us to remove the president’s photos from missions, consulates, offices, and residences. It’s not written, just phone calls. Regional ambassadors are spreading the word and overseeing it.” Another added, “Our regional ambassador didn’t say much, but a nearby mission’s envoy tipped us off.”