Wives of Aziz Ahmed's two siblings obtain e-passports with false info

The wives of two brothers of former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed have obtained e-passports with false information, just like their husbands.

Dilara Hasan, wife of Haris Ahmed, mentioned her husband’s name as Mohammad Hasan in her e-passport, while Shamim Ara Khan, wife of Tofail Ahmed alias Josef, named Tanveer Ahmed Tanjeel as her husband.

Although some court documents contain their real identities, they both received e-passports in the fake names with validity of 10 years and faced no adversities due to their engagement with the influential family.

When approached, officials of the department of immigration and passport declined to make any comments on the issue.

It was learned that the brothers – Haris and Josef – received assistance from Aziz Ahmed to incorporate the false information, including names and parental details, in their wives' passports.

Dilara Hasan named her father as Habibur Rahman and mother as Fatema Begum in the passport, while her address was mentioned as 28, Nurjahan Road, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207.

In the emergency contact section, she mentioned her sister Babli Rahman and her mobile number. However, she could not be reached by contacting the number.

The passport of Dilara Hasan will remain valid from 20 September, 2020 to 9 September, 2030. Earlier, she collected an MRP passport with validity from 2018 to 2023.

A source within the immigration and passport office said the central data centre of the e-passport management system mentioned the passport of Dilara Hasan to be canceled as per instructions from the high ups.

Shamim Ara Khan named her father as Shahin Khan and mother as Shahida Begum in the passport, while her address was mentioned as cantonment market areas, Dhaka cantonment. She mentioned her husband's name and mobile number for emergency contact.

She made her first passport in 2018 with a validity until 2023, while the second one in 2020, with validity until 22 March, 2030.

In a similar pattern, Haris received a passport in the name of Mohammad Hasan from the passport office at Agargaon in Dhaka on 19 February, 2014. His emergency contact address was mentioned as Fatema Begum, 28, Nurjahan Road, Mohammadpur.

He applied for renewal of the passport from Vienna in 2017, and altered his picture in 2019. Later, the immigration and passport department issued an e-passport to him with validity of 10 years on 9 February, 2020.

The source also revealed that Josef collected his first passport in the name of Tanvir Ahmed Tanjil on 13 May, 2018. His permanent address was mentioned as – 123/A, Tejkunipara, Tejgaon, Dhaka, while the present address was – 40, Khanpur, Narayanganj.

He added his wife’s name to the passport on 4 October of the same year and changed his permanent address in 2019. Later, he received an e-passport on 9 March, 2020, with new addresses.

Earlier, the two brothers collected national identity cards in the altered names and addresses. As per rules, all applicants have to appear before the concerned offices to get NID cards and passports.

Intentional falsification of information is a punishable offence as per the passport act and the national identity registration act.

Under the section-11 of the passport order, individuals intentionally providing false information to obtain passports can face imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of Tk 2,000.

*This report first appeared in the print version of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Misbahul Haque