BNP on Thursday briefed foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka about the latest situation in the country and some other issues, including party chairperson Khaleda Zia's health condition and recent upazila polls.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and some senior leaders of the party apprised the diplomats of their observations at a closed-door meeting at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.
However, there was no formal briefing from either side about the meeting.
Diplomats from the EU and different countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, China, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan, attended the nearly one-and-a-half hour long meeting that began around 4:30pm.
Apart from Fakhrul, BNP standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Vice Chairmen Khandker Mahbub Hossain and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, and the chairperson's adviser Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting, among others.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said the meeting was held as a part of their regular interaction with diplomats and that they talked about the country's political situation.
“The issue of our leader's (Khaleda's) sickness and release from jail also came up fo discussion,” he added.
Talking to UNB, a BNP leader who was present at the meeting, asking for anonymity, said that they had talked about the prevailing political situation after the December 30 election and people's “poor” response to the recent city and upazila elections.
He added that party leaders also briefed the diplomats on how the government is obstructing the release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and depriving her of proper treatment.