Aasha Khosa/New Delhi

Islamic Republic of Bangladesh has removed the ban on its citizens on travelling to Israel by removing the clause of ‘valid for all countries except Israel’ on their passports.

According to Blitz, English tabloid published from Dhaka, the e-passports, issued after Eid ul Fitr, no longer feature the sentence “THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES FOR THE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL”. Instead, the passports now state “THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES FOR THE WORLD.”

Blitz is published by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, who has courted controversy on several occasions in the past for his close links with Israel. He has also been convicted of treason for his act of attending a seminar in Tel Aviv in violation of the country's laws. He has been a great votary of his country’s friendship with Israel.

Israeli Foreign ministry official Gilard Cohen who is the Deputy Director General for Asia and the Pacific, Ministry of Foreign of Israel, has welcomed the development. He said on Twitter:

Great news! #Bangladesh has removed travel ban to Israel. This is a welcome step & I call on the Bangladeshi government to move forward and establish diplomatic ties with #Israel so both our peoples could benefit & prosper.@IsraelMFA #IsraelLooksEast https://t.co/LbOLbm9dfG

— Gilad Cohen 🇮🇱 (@GiladCohen_) May 22, 2021

Since Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, the country has not recognized Israel, despite Israel being one of the first four countries to recognize Bangladesh after it was carved out of Pakistan in 1971 after a war between India and Pakistan.

The newpaper has praised the forward looking approach of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in taking her country on the path of rapid economic development and also vigorously confronting radical Islamic militancy since 2009.

Though Bangladesh is an Islamic country, its constitution has secularism as its basic tenet and that has been upheld by the Courts whenever challenged.

The newspaper report says, "Earlier, despite not having any diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Bangladesh had removed ‘except Taiwan’ from the passport making it eligible for using to travel to Taiwan. Accordingly, Bangladesh’s economic interactions with Taiwan have significantly increased.

"It is believed, with the newly issued passports, Bangladesh nationals will have no legal bar in visiting Israel, and that will open a new vista of cooperation between the two countries.

"Israel has established relations with a number of Muslim nations in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates leading to several projects on economic and technological cooperation being discussed between Israel and those nations."

Blitz said the prospect of Bangladeshi being allowed to visit Israel using the newly issued passports, will open the prospect of cooperation in technological, economic and other sectors.