Pakistan asks Bangladesh to withdraw senior diplomat

Islamabad: A senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official says Pakistan has asked Bangladesh to withdraw its senior diplomat, Moushumi Rahman, in an apparent tit-for-tat move after Dhaka asked Islamabad to withdraw a Pakistani diplomat last month.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case, gave no further details.

In Dhaka, Foreign Ministry official Shahriar Alam, confirmed that Rahman has been asked to leave Pakistan in the next 48 hours.

He said Rahman was expected to join the Bangladeshi embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.

The move comes about two weeks after Bangladesh asked Pakistan to withdraw its diplomat, Fareena Arshad, over her alleged involvement in financing militant groups.