Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Akramul Qader met Senator John McCain III, an influential member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and apprised him of the current political situation in Bangladesh.
During the meeting held in Washington on December 20, Bangladesh envoy highlighted the present government efforts to bring the main opposition BNP into the national elections scheduled for January 5, according to an Embassy media release issued from Washington.
Akramul Qader detailed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s offer of dialogue to reach an understanding on the composition of the election-time government, it said.
The government’s intention to uphold people’s right to franchise through holding of free and fair elections in terms of the constitutional provisions was also mentioned during the meeting.
Senator John McCain III inquired about the status of the government before the election, judicial system and its independence.
On Wednesday, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved a resolution on Bangladesh expressing great concern about the continued political deadlock.
Senators Richard Durbin, Michael B Enzi and Christopher S Murphy submitted the resolution (Res-318) to the Committee on Foreign Relations on December 11 expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the critical need for political reform in Bangladesh and for other purposes.
The resolution was supposed to be followed by a full hearing in the US Senate anytime soon. The Ambassador was accompanied by Counsellor (political) Nayem Uddin Ahmed.
