Dhaka, Aug 10: The Iraqi diplomatic mission in Bangladesh will soon shut down here and probably be shifted to New Delhi even as the controversy over the seizure of huge quantity of unauthorised foreign currency from an Iraqi diplomat remained unresolved. Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan told reporters yesterday said the diplomats of the Iraqi mission had "verbally" conveyed the decision to his ministry to close down the mission. But khan added, "we have not received anything formally in writing".

He also added that the Iraqi mission had become nonfunctional following the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Mass circulated reported that the Charge de Affairs of Iraqi Embassy Adnan Hatab was summoned to the foreign ministry yesterday and he met Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury.

Hatab while explaining the seizure of money from an Iraqi diplomat based in New Delhi at the international airport here told the foreign secretary that the money seized was being taken out as part of shifting the mission to Delhi.

Customs officials at Dhaka's Zia International Airport on Friday had seized 1,72,520 US dollars from Omar Manir Shehab Ahmed, third secretary of Iraqi Embassy in India, as he was trying to go to India without proper authorisation. After seizure of the foreign currency, the diplomat was handed over to the Iraqi mission here.

The detained diplomat had arrived in Dhaka on Thursday on a week's visa. Bureau Report