&w=3840&q=100)
Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed put on indefinite leave by WHO
Advertisement
FILE- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, centre, is flanked by her daughter Saima Wazed. AP
The World Health Organisation has sent Sheikh Hasina's daughter, Saima Wazed, the Southeast Asia chief, on indefinite leave amid Bangladesh's interim government's assertion that she was involved in fraud and corruption during the former prime minister's rule.
A report by Health Policy Watch says that the WHO Chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informed the staff about Wazed's indefinite leave via an email. The leave went into effect from yesterday (June 11).
His email added that Dr Catharina Boehme, WHO's assistant director-general, would replace Wazed in taking over the office of the UN health agency's South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO).
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
What are the allegations against Wazed?
Earlier this year, Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accused Hasina's daughter of using her mother's influence to achieve her victory as the regional chief of the WHO.
Wazed is also alleged of misrepresenting her academic qualifications during the nomination process, according to ACC Deputy Director Akhtarul Islam. The alleged act falls under Sections 468 and 471 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, which cover forgery and the use of forged documents.
She also provided false information regarding her professional experience by claiming an honorary role at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, which has been categorically denied by the varsity.
What else has she been accused of?
Wazed has also been accused of widespread corruption during her mother's rule in Bangladesh.
The ACC alleges that Wazed exploited her position and influence to secure approximately $2.8 million from multiple banks under the name of the Shuchona Foundation, which she previously headed.
Although the exact use of the funds remains uncertain, the charges include Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and Section 5(2) of the 1947 Prevention of Corruption Act for abuse of power.
Interim govt welcomes move
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has welcomed the WHO's decision to put Wazed on leave.
'We welcome the World Health Organisation's reported decision to place Saima Wazed on indefinite leave amid ongoing investigations into serious allegations of fraud, forgery and abuse of power. We view this as an important first step toward accountability,' Shafiqul Alam, Yunus' press secretary, said.
He added, 'We firmly believe that a permanent resolution is necessary, one that removes Ms. Wazed from her position, revokes all associated privileges and restores integrity to this prestigious role and the credibility of the UN system as a whole.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.P. police busts illegal religious conversion racket, arrest 10 accused
Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday (July 19, 2025) said it arrested 10 individuals from six States involved in a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket. The arrests were made from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Goa apart from U.P. 'The probe began in Agra in March after two sisters aged 18 and 33 were reported missing. Investigations revealed that they were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and were undergoing radicalization. One of the sisters had also put a picture of a girl holding an AK 47 rifle as her profile picture on a social media platform. Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in 'love jihad' and radicalization,' said Agra Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar. He added evidence of the racket receiving funding originating from America and Canada is also noticed during investigation,'. 'The arrested individuals activities included receiving illicit funds, providing safe houses for covert operations, offering legal advice, and providing other forms of assistance to facilitate the conversions and radicalization,' added the police. In light of multi State and transnational imprints of the racket dedicated units of the State police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), are deployed to assist with the ongoing investigation. 'This action is part of 'Mission Asmita', an ongoing initiative aimed at dismantling such illicit syndicates,' added the U.P. police. Mission Asmita, is a dedicate initiative of U.P. police to take on criminals involved in serious offenses such as illegal conversions, radicalization, love jihad and deliberate attempts to undermine national security with the help of transnational network.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
In INDIA Bloc's Virtual Meet, Some Complaints And Demands: 10 Points
New Delhi: Top leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc held a virtual meeting on Saturday to decide what issues they should take up during the monsoon session of parliament. The meeting resembled a complaint session with many disagreements, sources said. Here's your 10-point cheat sheet on the INDIA bloc meeting Communist Party of India leader D Raja indirectly objected to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's comment on the Left's ideology in Kerala and its comparison to the BJP's ideological mentor RSS. Mr Raja said senior leaders should be mindful of limits when criticising alliance partners. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, and Ram Gopal Yadav demanded that such meetings be called regularly. The next meeting of the INDIA bloc could be in the first week of August, sources said. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah suggested raising the issue of full statehood for the Union Territory during the parliament session. The members agreed, and also decided to raise the issue of the Pahalgam terror attack. Dipankar Bhattacharya demanded that the issue of the central government's anti-Maoist campaign and the Maoists' demand for a ceasefire be raised. The Trinamool Congress's Abhishek Banerjee asked if the Pahalgam attack was an intelligence failure, then why did the Intelligence Bureau chief get an extension? "Pegasus is being used against the Opposition, instead of terrorists. The government is trying to bring the NRC through SIR. E-squared [ED and EC] have become puppets of the government," Mr Banerjee said. The India bloc's 24 member parties attended the virtual meeting. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was absent, signalling a departure from the bloc's line of thinking and strategy. The other key attendees included Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. After the meeting, Congress leader and Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, said there was complete consensus about the concern over national security as it was being compromised in the BJP regime. He said the INDIA bloc has expressed concerns over the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump that he mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He said Mr Trump has so far made the claims 24 times, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept quiet and not responded. Mr Tiwari said INDIA bloc parties expressed their concern over SIR in Bihar. He said it was felt that there was an undeclared Emergency during which voters' names were being removed from the list.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Govt Dental College gets notice over false anti-ragging report
Nagpur: The Dental Council of India (DCI) has issued a show-cause notice to the Government Dental College and Hospital (GDCH), Nagpur, for allegedly furnishing false information in its official anti-ragging compliance report for the academic year 2024–25. The incident happened during the tenure of former dean Dr Abhay Datarkar, who was recently transferred to Jalgaon. The DCI letter, dated July 15, addressed to the present dean of GDCH Nagpur, alleges that the college falsely claimed that DCI member Dr Arun Dodamani personally conducted the mandatory Anti-Ragging Orientation Programme (AROP) on Nov 18, 2024. However, upon verification, DCI found that Dr Dodamani never visited the institution on the said date. The college previously submitted clarifications in response to DCI's queries raised through letters dated May 5 and May 16, 2025. But the executive committee of DCI, dissatisfied with the explanations, described the act as "misguiding" and reflecting a "lack of seriousness towards the zero-tolerance-to-ragging policy." Now, DCI has summoned the current dean of GDCH to appear for a personal hearing before its executive committee on July 22 in New Delhi. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo The timeline of the alleged incident coincides with Datarkar's tenure as dean of the institution. The matter has triggered serious concerns about administrative transparency during his tenure. During the last session of the state legislative assembly, senior Congress leader and former minister Dr Nitin Raut demanded an inquiry into the role of Dr Datarkar, alleging that the former dean was involved in multiple irregularities in recent years. Raut has called on the Maharashtra govt to not only investigate the ragging report forgery but also review decisions and functioning of the former administration. The current in-charge dean, Dr Milind Phadnaik, declined to comment, stating that he is not a full-time dean and the matter pertains to an official DCI notice. Dr Datarkar is on medical leave at present.
