Shahriar Alam: Foreign friends not to put pressure on govt over polls

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has said no foreign country will put pressure on the government supporting the demand of BNP or any banned political party over the next national election. "We do not think they [diplomats] will waste time on these issues. There is no such scope either. We understand it through our constant engagement with them over the last few years," he told reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. BNP has been seeking a neutral government to oversee parliamentary elections while the government says the elections will be held as per the Constitution. The state minister, however, said the support from the organizations which remain with Bangladesh in making the election and its process easier, modern, and time-befitting, will continue in the coming days. "We do not see any confusion about elections," he added. Responding to a question, Shahriar said the government is working to ease problems for expatriate Bangladeshis ensuring services to them in a modern way. "We want to provide better services to the expatriates by digitalizing the services," he said. He said the Bangladesh Mission in Malaysia is facing a tremendous pressure to resolve the problems faced by Bangladeshis there in terms of regularization of their jobs and extension of job tenures. "We are working to increase workforce there for the mission to help the expatriates in a speedier manner," he said. Regarding Rohingya issue, he said they are on track in terms of timeframe mentioned in the bilateral document signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar on November 23. A Joint Working Group (JWG) has already been formed and its first meeting will be held sometime in January. "We are upbeat, confident, and hopeful. We are bilaterally engaged," he said describing the international supports that Bangladesh gained on the issue. He said the government is committed to a safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation and others should not be worried about that. Earlier, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo met State Minister M Shahriar Alam and discussed various issues, including the Rohingya crisis.