BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul hopes to work 'closely' with foreign diplomats

He urges a swift return to democracy through free and fair elections

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has expressed hope to work more closely with development partners in the coming days with foreign diplomats based in Dhaka.

He said, “The way forward is clear — a speedy return to democracy through a free and fair election.”

At the Westin Hotel in Dhaka on Sunday, Fakhrul and party Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury shared Iftar with British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke, former US deputy head of Mission Jon Danilowicz, Pakistani High Commissioner Syed Ahmed Maroof, and Turkish Ambassador Ramis Sen.

BNP leaders Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Mirza Abbas sat with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma, UN Coordinator Gwyn Lewis, and EU Ambassador Michael Miller.

US Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, German Ambassador Achim Tröster, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen, Canadian High Commissioner Ajit Patel, and diplomats from Russia, Japan, the UAE, Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, South Korea, Nepal, and Iraq attended the Iftar.

On behalf of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Fakhrul extended greetings to the diplomats.

In a brief speech, he said: “The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is committed to upholding democracy, accountability, rule of law, good governance, justice, and humanity.

“We want to ensure the political destiny of Bangladesh will be determined only by its people.

“We hope that our global partners will respect the norms of non-interference, sovereignty and peaceful resolution for our collective development.

“We look forward to working closely with our partners to ensure our region’s progress through democracy and liberal trade partnerships, and we look forward to increasing people-to-people contacts in the days to come.

“Today, as we share this Iftar, we are reminded of the values of justice, resilience and unity. The Bangladeshi people deserve a future free from fear, oppression and political uncertainty.”

Before the event, the BNP leader exchanged greetings with the diplomats.

Editors from leading newspapers, including the Prothom Alo's Matiur Rahman, the Daily Star's Mahfuz Anam, and bdnews24.com's Toufique Imrose Khalidi, attended the event.