Foreign minister briefs ASEAN, SAARC envoys
Against the backdrop of escalating violence, envoys of different countries have expressed concern over the safety of their people, students and members of the diplomatic staff living in the country. This occurred when foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali briefed the envoys from SAARC and ASEAN countries on the current situation of the country at the state guest house Padma on Monday afternoon, sources who attended the meeting told The Independent. Some ambassadors and diplomatic heads of missions spoke on the occasion as the foreign minister wanted to know if they had any concerns, the sources said. Envoys from different countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, raised different issues with regard to security.
The diplomats, however, expressed satisfaction as the government had beefed up security for their missions.
“The envoys of Malaysia, Nepal and Bhutan mentioned the safety of the students from their countries while the envoy of the Philippines pointed out the safety of its expatriates living in Bangladesh,” said a senior official.
Overall, they expressed concern about safety of their expatriates, students and diplomatic personnel, added the official.
“None of the envoys raised the issue of the upcoming election, scheduled on January 5. They, however, conveyed to the minister that they want stability of Bangladesh.” In reply,
the sources said the foreign minister assured the envoys that everything possible would be done to ensure the safety of every foreign national.
About the overseas students, the minister said that he would ask the authorities concerned to enhance the security of the international hostels.
Pakistan high commissioner Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi expressed his happiness over the enhancement of security for his mission while Indian high commissioner Pankaj Saran expressed his gratitude for ensuring the security of Indian missions and personnel.
Meanwhile, according to a foreign ministry press release, the foreign minister briefed the envoys about various security measures taken up by the election-time government during these “critical days” preceding the election under close directives of the Election Commission, to prevent “BNP-Jamaat terrorist attacks” on the lives and properties of the common people, especially the minorities, as well as on state-owned institutions.
“The all-party election-time government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is providing all-out support to the Election Commission towards creating a conducive environment for holding the 10th Parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2014, in a free, fair, credible and peaceful manner,” he told the envoys.
Ali reaffirmed the government’s strong resolve to thwart any attempts at terrorism by “these enemies of the state” in the name of blockades and hartals against the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general election and the war crimes tribunals.
The foreign minister assured the envoys that the election-time government would try its best to ensure full safety and security of the diplomatic missions in Bangladesh as well as foreign nationals, including students and expatriate workers from their countries, living in Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister’s international affairs adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi and foreign secretary Md Shahidul Haque were also present during the briefing.
On Tuesday, the foreign minister will brief the envoys of the US, Canada, China, Japan, the United Nations and Australia in the morning and mission chiefs of OIC countries in the afternoon. Ambassadors of the European countries will be briefed on December 30.
-With The Independent input
