The former US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas, has found himself at the centre of a growing storm after Indian intelligence agencies raised alarms over his activities in South Asia following his exit from diplomatic service. Indian and Bangladeshi intelligence sources have flagged Haas’s repeated visits to Bangladesh since his departure from the US Foreign Service in September 2024, particularly questioning the true purpose behind these trips.
According to intelligence officials, Haas, now a Strategic Adviser to Texas-based Excelerate Energy, returned to Bangladesh at least six times over the past year. While these visits were officially described as “business-related” under his new role in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, the timing and nature of his interactions have led many to believe there was far more than corporate diplomacy at play.
Most recently, on Tuesday, August 5, Haas was in Cox’s Bazar, where he reportedly held a meeting at the Royal Tulip Hotel (Sea Pearl Beach Resort) with five top leaders of the National Coordination Platform (NCP), Hasnat Abdullah, Sarjis Alam, Tasnim Zara, Nasiruddin Patwary, and Khaled Saifullah. All five were also prominent figures in the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, which played a vital role in the mass demonstrations preceding Bangladesh’s political shift.
“The student leaders are said to have flown in from Dhaka earlier that day on a Bangladesh Biman flight, further raising eyebrows about the logistical coordination involved in such a high-level yet unofficial meeting,” said an official from the Bangladeshi intelligence agency.
Haas allegedly played a pivotal role in the regime change operation that led to the ousting of Sheikh Hasina’s government. His activities between mid-2023 and July 2024, intelligence sources claim, included strategic collaboration with Donald Lu, then US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia. The push for “free and fair elections” in Bangladesh under the Hasina regime is now believed to have been part of a broader geopolitical operation involving US intelligence and security networks.
Between October and November 2023, Haas reportedly made discreet visits to Sri Lanka and Mumbai while “on leave.” However, intelligence sources assert his actual purpose was to consult with US security officials and operatives who later groomed student leaders instrumental in sparking the civil unrest that toppled the Hasina government.
Haas is also believed to have met several key figures in the current interim government, including Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus. The most recent of these meetings reportedly took place on April 8 at the Jamuna Guest House in Dhaka.
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“This connection is significant because the regime change plan was, sources claim, long in the making. It began in early 2023 with Yunus stepping down as Grameen Group Chairman on March 7, 2023, an act believed to have been influenced by US advisers. Around the same time, Haas began making vocal appeals for election reforms,” said an Indian intelligence official.
Sources within intelligence establishments said by late 2023, clandestine meetings involving American intelligence officials—many operating under USAID cover, were being held with Bangladeshi student activists in Doha, Dubai, and Pakistani cities, where ISI members allegedly also met these groups. “The overarching strategy was finalised at a Washington DC meeting in November 2023, presided over by former US ambassador William Milam, a senior figure at the Woodrow Wilson Center,” said the official.
Following the disputed general elections on January 7, 2024, the second phase of the operation reportedly began in July–August 2024, culminating in widespread violence and allegedly forcing Hasina to flee to India.
Excelerate Energy, Haas’s current employer, maintains a presence in cities including Chattogram, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore—locations that largely mirror Haas’s travel patterns since leaving the State Department.
The final phase of the alleged US-backed operation involves using the Bangladesh Army as a proxy in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The US is reportedly pursuing a policy of supporting the Arakan Army indirectly through Dhaka, a move with far-reaching implications for regional security.
For now, Haas’s frequent and secretive visits have raised more questions than answers. No official response has been issued by the US Embassy or the State Department, but the narrative forming within intelligence circles points to a broader campaign that blended diplomacy, covert coordination, and strategic influence.
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