Bangladesh government has sent a protest letter to the New York Times for publishing two reports, claiming ISIS involvement in the recent attacks on foreigners and a pastor in the country.
Recently two foreigners, an Italian in the diplomatic zone in Dhaka and a Japanese in the northern part of country, have been shot dead by unknown miscreants. Investigators are yet to identify the culprits.
Read also: Japanese citizen shot dead in Rangpur. Italian citizen shot dead in Dhaka
Bangladesh Ambassador to the US Mohammad Ziaudddin on Saturday sent the letter to the editor of the US-based daily newspaper, protesting the reports published on October 5 and 7.
The letter reads:“Your news articles [Bangladesh Skeptical of Claims ISIS Was Behind Shootings] on Oct 5 and [Baptist Pastor in Bangladesh Is Wounded in Knife Attack] on Oct 7 cite a single organization, the SITE Intelligence Group, as claiming that the attacks were carried out by ISIS.
“Bangladesh government investigators have found no evidence of a link between the attacks and ISIS, or of any ISIS presence in Bangladesh.”
Referring to the government'songoing efforts to eliminate extremism and terrorism, the letter further stated: “The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, with help from the United States, continues to fight domestic terror in the country in order to prevent Bangladesh from becoming a staging area for global terror. And it’s working.”
The number of deaths in Bangladesh associated with extremism have dropped from 404 in 2013 to 37 so far this year, the letter added quoting a report of the South Asian Terrorism Portal.
Earlier in 2013, the Government of Bangladesh protested a editorial of New York Times that slammed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the incumbent political deadlock.
