Recently, a claim began circulating on Facebook, following the Cox’s Bazar visit of leaders from the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), asserting that they had participated in a secret meeting with former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas. In connection with this claim, a document purportedly from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) was shared on Facebook, alleging that Peter Haas departed Bangladesh by air on the evening of August 5, following the alleged meeting with NCP leaders. A FactWatch investigation reveals that the circulated document contains multiple inconsistencies and errors, rendering it baseless.

FactWatch identified at least four inconsistencies in the alleged document:

First, the name of the issuing authority is incorrect. The document refers to the “Bangladesh Private Aviation Authority,” which does not exist. The organization responsible for regulating aviation activities, airport operations, and safety in Bangladesh is the “Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).” Therefore, the mentioned name is inaccurate.

Second, the document contains a signature under the name Shahriar Chowdhury, identified as Assistant Director of AVSEC ID Permit at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. However, FactWatch found no record of any official by that name holding such a position. Instead, the current official in that role is Nasima Shaheen. Hence, the claim that Shahriar Chowdhury holds an official post at the airport is unfounded.

Third, the document mentions a person named Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury as a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Shipping. FactWatch’s investigation confirms that Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury last served as Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping in 2022, and on October 31 of that year, he was appointed Senior Secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration. Following the fall of the Awami League government in 2024, he was made an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on August 28. As of now, no one named Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury holds a secretary position at the Ministry of Shipping. Additionally, another individual named in the document, Ruhul Alam Siddique, is identified as a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Currently, there is no official with that name serving in that position.

Fourth, there is a discrepancy regarding the flight schedule. The document claims that former U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas left Dhaka on flight EK 583, which departed at 7:10 PM. However, multiple flight tracking websites indicate that this flight actually departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:52 AM. Furthermore, the document incorrectly spells the word “Ambassador” as “Embassador.”

Taken together, the document contains four significant inaccuracies: the name of a non-existent issuing authority, the signature of an individual who is not listed as an official in the relevant role, incorrect flight departure time, and reference to individuals who are not currently serving in the positions stated. These discrepancies lead FactWatch to conclude that the circulated government document is false.

It is important to note that this report does not verify the truthfulness of the claim regarding whether a meeting between Peter Haas and NCP leaders actually took place.

Original News Source: https://www.fact-watch.org/flight_of_peter_huss/