Staff Correspondent:

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has issued show-cause notices on its five senior leaders for their “unannounced” visit to Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday — the first anniversary of the July Mass Uprising.

Five separate letters signed by Saleh Uddin Sifat, joint member secretary of NCP, were issued in this regard on Wednesday afternoon.

The five leaders are NCP’s Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari, Chief Organiser (North) Sarjis Alam, Chief Organiser (South) Hasnat Abdullah, Senior Joint Member Secretary Tasnim Jara, and her husband Khaled Saifullah, who is also a joint convener of the party.

On Tuesday August 5, the first anniversary of the July Uprising and a nationally important day, you and four other central party members went to Cox’s Bazar on a personal visit. No prior information or explanation regarding this visit was communicated to the Political Council.”

In this situation, you are hereby requested to appear in person and provide a written explanation to the Convener Nahid Islam, and the Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, within the next 24 hours regarding the reasons and context of your decision,” reads each of the letters.

Sources at the Cox’s Bazar airport said the NCP delegation landed there around 11:30am yesterday on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka.

According to sources at the airport, the group headed to the five-star Sea Pearl Beach Resort & Spa (formerly Royal Tulip) in Inani, about 20 km from the airport.

Their sudden visit has triggered rumours in political circles that the NCP leaders were set to meet former US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas.

Haas is currently serving as a strategic adviser to the US multinational company Excelerate Energy, which exports liquefied natural gas (LNG). He previously served as the US Ambassador to Bangladesh from January 2022 to July 2024.

Nasiruddin dismissed the rumours, saying they are simply visiting Cox’s Bazar for vacation.

He termed the reports of a meeting with Haas as “false and defamatory”.