Jump to content

Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey , also spelled Mushfiqul Fazal Ansari, is a Washington DC-based Bangladeshi journalist known for asking questions at the press briefings of the United States Department of State.[1][2] He is a permanent correspondent of the United Nation headquarters.[3] He was the assistant press secretary to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He was a well known critic of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Ansarey was born in Sylhet District.[5] His uncle was Harris Chowdhury.[6] Ansarey was a member of the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatra Dal.[1]

Career

[edit]

From 2001 to 2006, Ansarey was the assistant press secretary to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.[4] He was part of the delegation led by Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, that negotiated with Bangladesh Non-government Primary Teachers Association to end their hunger strike in June 2006.[7] The delegation also included Taimur Alam Khandakar and Shamsul Alam, Assistant Private Secretary of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.[7] In October 2006, he was part of the delegation which brought a letter of congratulations to Muhammad Yunus from Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.[8]

Ansarey was part of a 2011 delegation let by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to the United States and United Kingdom in 2011 which also included Abdul Awal Mintoo, Maruf Kamal Khan, Nooruddin Ahmed, Sabiuddin Ahmed, Shafik Rehman, Shimul Biswas, and Shamsher M. Chowdhury.[9][10] After the tour, the delegation claimed the United States will suspend contributions to Bangladesh under the Millennium Development Accounts until the government resolves its issues with Muhammad Yunus.[9]

Ansarey was an anchor on Bangladesh Television.[4] He was a reporter of The Daily Ittefaq.[11] On 7 February 2010, he conducted a grassroot meeting of Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists in Sylhet District where the coordinator was M Ilyas Ali.[12] He hosted the show Hello Excellency on NTV in which he interviewed foreign diplomats in 2012.[4][13]

Ansarey went into exile to the United States during the rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January 2015 in face of government oppression.[14]

Ansary is an accredited White House and United Nations correspondent.[4] He is the chief news editor of JustNewsBD.[4] He would raise questions about lack of fair elections in Bangladesh at the State Department.[1] He was criticised in Bangladesh for his questions to State Department spokesman Mathew Miller which started with "Bangladesh PM said US wants to grab Saint Martin".[15][16] AAMS Arefin Siddique, former vice-chancellor of the University of Dhaka, called it a "textbook case of propaganda peddling".[15] Foreign Hasan Mahmud referred to him as "paid by BNP" and accused him of deliberately leading questions about Bangladesh.[17]

In November 2022, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime of Bangladesh Police sued Ansarey under the Digital Security Act along with Pinaki Bhattacharya and Mofizur Rahman.[18] The case was shifted to the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal in April 2024.[19]

Ansary is the executive director of South Asia Perspectives while the editor is William Milam, former US ambassador to Bangladesh, and editor at large is Jon F. Danilowicz, former deputy chief of the US embassy in Bangladesh.[4] State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Shahriar Alam, criticized the South Asia Perspectives describing it as being funded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[20] He is also a board member of the Right to Freedom along with William Milam and Jon F. Danilowicz.[21][22]

Ansarey returned to Bangladesh in September 2024 following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.[4] The pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party fraction of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists hosted him at the Jatiya Press Club.[4] He met with former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia after returning to Bangladesh.[23] The Business Post called him "fervent advocate for press freedom and renowned for his fearless journalism".[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (2024-03-31). "Washington-based ex Khaleda Zia aide under spotlight for his queries on Kejriwal". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  2. ^ "Khaleda's ex-aide attempts provocation with UP chairman's Haas remark". Somoy TV. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  3. ^ "UN expresses concern over Rozina's arrest". The Daily Star. 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Journalist Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey to return home on Thursday ending decade-long exile". Dhaka Tribune. 8 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Mushfiqul returns home after a decade". businesspostbd.com. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  6. ^ "Khaleda's ex-assistant press secretary at it again". Somoy TV. 4 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Primary teachers end hunger strike". The Daily Star. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  8. ^ "PM's felicitation letter handed over to Yunus". The Daily Star. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  9. ^ a b "BNP claims of US fund threat". The Daily Star. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  10. ^ "Khaleda leaves tomorrow for London". The Daily Star. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  11. ^ Suman, Rakib Hasnet; Siddiquee, Iqbal; Sylhet, from (2010-02-07). "Sylhet grassroots see Tarique adoration". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  12. ^ Suman, Rakib Hasnet; Siddiquee, Iqbal; Sylhet, from (2010-02-07). "Sylhet grassroots see Tarique adoration". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  13. ^ ""Hello Excellency", featuring diplomats, on ntv tonight". The Daily Star. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  14. ^ "Mushfiqul returns home after a decade | News". BSS. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  15. ^ a b "Media people, academics denounce misinformation involving PM Hasina". Prothomalo. 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  16. ^ "Media people, academics denounce misinformation involving PM Hasina". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  17. ^ "Hasan: Someone paid by BNP deployed at US State Dept briefings". Dhaka Tribune. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Pinaki Bhattacharya sued under DSA". The Daily Star. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  19. ^ "DSA case against Pinaki Bhattachary shifted to Dhaka tribunal". The Daily Star. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  20. ^ "Shahriar Alam questions role of ex-US diplomats William Milam, Jon Danilowicz". The Business Standard. 2023-08-12. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  21. ^ UNB (2024-08-31). "Priority should be given to reforms, fair polls: Webinar". Prothomalo. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  22. ^ "Board Of Directors". Right to Freedom. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  23. ^ a b "Journalist Mushfiq meets Khaleda Zia". The Business Post. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mushfiqul_Fazal_Ansarey&oldid=1247559475"