Leaders of the Bangladeshi community in Canada have formally requested the interim government of Bangladesh to cancel the appointment of Nahida Sobhan as the new High Commissioner to Canada. The appeal was made in a memorandum delivered to Acting High Commissioner Dewan Ayub at the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa.

Community representatives delivered a formal request to Acting High Commissioner Dewan Ayub at the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa on August 19. The community is upset about Sobhan’s past roles, including her time in Geneva, where she was reportedly involved in defending controversial actions by the previous Bangladeshi government. They also criticized her involvement in Jordan, where she allegedly supported the imprisonment of Bangladeshi workers.

The community is also troubled by the perception that Sobhan’s appointment is politically motivated, given her close ties to the current Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen. They argue that her controversial history undermines the integrity of Bangladesh’s diplomatic representation and does not align with the values of transparency and justice they wish to uphold.

The community leaders argue that Sobhan’s past actions do not reflect the values they want to see in their diplomatic representatives and have urged the interim government to cancel her appointment and recall her to Dhaka. They stress that any delay in this matter could lead to further unrest among expatriates in Canada.

The group, comprising Misbahul Islam, Masood Abdullah, Lutfar Rahman, Nazrul Islam, Mustasim Billah, Manowar Hossain, Manjur Morshed, and Nazrul Rahman, conveyed their key concerns and requests on behalf of the community.

Mentionable, the Bangladesh government appointed Nahida Sobhan, the serving Bangladesh Ambassador to Jordan, as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Canada in May 2024. She was supposed to replace Ambassador Dr Khalilur Rahman in this capacity, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports UNB.

Nahida Sobhan, a career diplomat of the 15th batch of BCS (Foreign Affairs) cadre, joined Foreign Service in 1995. Since February 2020, she has been serving as Ambassador of Bangladesh to Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with concurrent accreditation to Palestine and Syria.

In her diplomatic career, she has also served in Bangladesh Missions at Rome, Kolkata, and Geneva in different capacities. At the headquarters, she has held several important positions like Director General of UN & Human Rights Wing as well as Multilateral Economic Affairs Wing.

Nahida Sobhan obtained her Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Dhaka. She also completed several professional training courses both at home and abroad and represented Bangladesh in numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Ambassador Nahida Sobhan is fluent in English and French, while Bengali is her native language.