M Maroof Zaman () is a former

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

diplomat who served as an ambassador of Bangladesh to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He was a subjected to

enforced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

and is said to have held captive in ‘

Aynaghar Aynaghar () is a colloquial term referring to a network of clandestine detention centers which were operated by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the intelligence branch of Bangladesh's defence forces and Rapid Action Battalio ...

’.

Career

Zaman was commissioned into the

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

in 1977 through the 6th Short Course and served in the Signal Corps, retiring with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for health reasons. He transitioned to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1982 and later held key diplomatic positions, including Minister at the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK and Ambassador to

. As Director General in the Foreign Ministry, he oversaw relations with

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, before being appointed as Bangladesh's Ambassador to

in 2004. Zaman was sent into forced retirement in August 2013 along with Mohammed Hasib Aziz and Ashraf Uddin.

Forced disappearance

On December 4, 2017, Zaman disappeared while on his way to the airport to pick up his daughter. Shortly after, he contacted his home from an unknown number, instructing his staff to hand over his laptop to several men who would visit the house. Three men, described as well-built and masked, arrived and conducted a thorough search, taking his spare cellphone, camera, and laptop. Zaman's car was later found abandoned in Khilkhet, and his phone was switched off. Following his disappearance, Zaman's daughter, Samiha Zaman, filed a General Diary with the

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

and campaigned with Mayer Daak, an organization representing families of enforced disappearance victims in Bangladesh. Several former Bangladeshi ambassadors also expressed concern over his disappearance. After being missing for 467 days, Zaman returned home on March 16, 2019. Kazi Reazul Hoque, Chairperson of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

, welcomed his return and called for accountability. Zaman's family confirmed his return but declined to provide further details, requesting privacy. A 2022 whistleblower investigation by the

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

-based news portal ''

Netra News Netra News () is a Sweden-based investigative and public interest journalism platform focusing on Bangladesh. The platform was launched on December 26, 2019, by Tasneem Khalil, an exiled Bangladeshi journalist currently living in Sweden, who ser ...

'' suggested that Zaman had been secretly detained at ‘

’, a clandestine facility operated by the

Directorate General of Forces Intelligence The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (), commonly known by its acronym DGFI, is the defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tasked with collection, collation and evaluation of strategic and topographic informatio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaman, M Maroof 2010s missing person cases Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Qatar Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Vietnam Bangladesh Army officers Bangladesh Army captains Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh Formerly missing people Living people Missing person cases in Bangladesh Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

Forced disappearance

See also

References