Thursday, October 29, 2009

Change of Guards: Fakhruddin to Nazrul

By the time 1987 came around, we all knew that it was just a matter of time for a change of guards at the office of the Foreign Secretary. It was a pity that for an excellent diplomat and a wonderful man like Fakhruddin Ahmed, his stint in the Foreign Ministry as a Foreign Secretary would be the way it has been for no fault of his. In his first stint when he became Foreign Secretary after Enayet Karim died in office in 1973, he had to hold charge as Acting Foreign Secretary for a long period till he was made a full Secretary although he was immensely liked by Bangobandhu for his ability and personality. In his second stint, he was not allowed to work because of the negative attitude of his superiors.

In January, 1987, President Ershad visited Kuwait to attend the 5th Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference countries. Fakhruddin Ahmed was not included in that delegation on the reasoning that a Foreign Minister and a Foreign Secretary cannot travel together in a Presidential delegation. At the airport, the President's aircraft faced some hassle. It was kept out of the boarding bridge for a while. There was a slip in communication somewhere but then the President was quite rightly very angry. The Ambassador in Kuwait at that time was Nazrul Islam, an ex-Pakistan Foreign Service Officer of the 1955 batch, a batch junior to Fakhruddin Ahmed. The President's anger quite naturally fell upon the Ambassador. He however turned that anger to his advantage by sorting out the lapse, pinpointing the responsibility that showed that the Mission was not responsible; secured apologies from the hosts, all achieved in very quick time that impressed the President. A Labour Attaché at the Kuwait Embassy was a nephew of a very influential army general close to the President, a connection that also worked in favour of Nazrul Islam. By the time the President left for Dhaka, his mind was already made up about who would soon be replacing Fakhruddin Ahmed at the Foreign Ministry.

In the 1980s, Dhaka did not have the large number of private TV channels that we see today. In fact, it only had the government owned Bangladesh television or BTV. There were fewer newspapers those days too. But those days, there was a vibrant and dedicated group of journalists who seriously covered the affairs of the Foreign Ministry. At the Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Secretary used to meet these journalists although during the period of Fakhruddin Ahmed, such press briefings had not yet become a weekly affair but were based on as and when needed. By and large, these diplomatic correspondents were good and covered news objectively. However, there were the odd ones who were more interested in the gossip in the Ministry; in the postings and transfers; and in what happened at the missions. The President's Office viewed these reports very seriously and the Foreign Ministry spent a great deal of time explaining such news reports primarily based on gossips and not on substance. Many career diplomats fell into problems due to such reports.

The press also speculated on the under current in the Foreign Ministry between the Minister and the Foreign Secretary and the Ministry and the President's Office. In fact, the media played the role of the straw that broke the camel's back in ending the tenure of Fakhruddin Ahmed. The incident occurred during the official visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary Ramesh Bhandari to Dhaka shortly before Fakhruddin Ahmed's tenure came to an end in May, 1987. Ramesh Bhandari and Fakhruddin Ahmed had fruitful talks. On the Indian side, there was sincerity to improve relations with neighbours because Rajiv Gandhi was serious about it. In fact, in 1985, he had made a trip to Urirchar to personally stand by side of Bangladesh after the country was hit by a devastating cyclone. Despite the desire on both sides for improvement of relations, there were nevertheless serious unresolved issues. The issue of South Talpatti in the Bay of Bengal was at that time a matter of serious controversy between the two countries related to the demarcation of maritime boundary.

Following the conclusion of the talks, the two Foreign Secretaries addressed a joint press conference. Fakhruddin Ahmed was reluctant to address the press but agreed to do so on the recommendation of the South Asia Wing of the Ministry. Journalists at the conference picked on the South Talpatti issue to try and corner Ramesh Bhandari and Fakhruddin Ahmed. Ramesh Bhandari said all bilateral issues were discussed. When one journalist insisted on South Talpatti, he said the issue was not important.

Fakhruddin Ahmed allowed the question to pass and did not add or contradict his guest for obvious reasons of diplomatic decency. Fakhruddin Ahmed was also aware that by discussing the issue in public, he would have harmed Bangladesh's interests. His diplomatic silence was misunderstood and blown out of proportion in the media the next day. The Foreign Secretary was held responsible for failure to take a stand in favour of Bangladesh on an extremely important national issue. The President did not fail to take note of the press criticism against Fakhruddin Ahmed and decided to replace him as the Foreign Secretary.

The end came in the shape of a drama of sorts. It was a May morning that I received a call on the intercom from the Director in the Foreign Minister's Office that he was coming to me with an important file in a sealed cover. In fact, he came to me soon after the call and gave me the sealed cover. He made me sign receipt for it in the peon book. He said that I should place it before the Foreign Secretary right away without opening it. He told me nothing about its contents.

My instructions from Fakhruddin Ahmed were to open all letters/covers sealed or unsealed addressed to the Foreign Secretary except those marked "personal" before giving these to him. So I opened the sealed cover. What I read shocked because of its abruptness but not on the details. The note said that the President had decided to appoint Ambassador Nazrul Islam as the next Foreign Secretary and to send Fakhruddin Ahmed to the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) as Principal. Career diplomats at that time looked upon the post of Principal as an expression of displeasure of the Ministry, a perception that is still current.

Fakhruddin Ahmed was with Faruq Ahmed Chowdhury, our High Commissioner in New Delhi and Humayun Kabir, then Principal at the FSA, when I walked to his room and placed the note before him. He read it in an instant. I watched him while walking out. I did not see any emotion in his face. He handed the note to his visitors like it was a usual file on an unimportant subject that he had just received from the Minister.

While this drama was being enacted in the Foreign Secretary's room, the Foreign Minister was in his office across the corridor. No phone call or meeting took place between them over such an extraordinary development. Fakhruddin Ahmed who seldom used to sit late in office left the Ministry early that day and did not call me to his room as was his habit before he left office. His early departure from the office that fateful day was the only sign of some emotion in the Foreign Secretary. That afternoon, he called me at home, something he seldom did. He told me over the phone what the note said and gave me instructions on what I should do in the next one week he would still remain a Foreign Secretary. I told him in emotion choked voice that there was not one soul in the Ministry who had not been shocked and saddened by the news of his imminent departure.

The news was quite expectedly a big one in the newspapers the next day. Reports pointed the finger at the Foreign Minister for easing the departure of the Foreign Secretary. The following week, the Foreign Secretary and the Foreign Minister together with the Additional Foreign Secretary Harun-ur-Rashid were in many close door meetings to draft press releases rejecting that the Foreign Minister had anything to do with the decision about Fakhruddin Ahmed.

Fakhruddin Ahmed took everything with philosophical grace but also showed the mettle he was made of. He did not join the FSA and spent the remaining few months of his career as an Officer on Special Duty till he retired. Looking back, I cannot help feeling proud of my association with Fakhruddin Ahmed who had lent dignity to the post of Foreign Secretary that he had the unique distinction of holding twice. Sadly, his superiors had failed to appreciate his worth.

Published in The Daily Independent, October 30, 2009

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