Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque has said he does not think the US is targeting Bangladesh with more sanctions amid media reports about possible embargoes by America on Bangladeshi individuals or entities.
“Some newspaper might have written something about sanctions. I think Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is right that Bangladesh, as an independent nation, does not expect or take it easily when other countries interfere in its internal matters,” the minister told journalists on Sunday.
“And why would they [US] impose sanctions? I think they won’t impose sanctions. They will understand the reality and help us hold a free and fair election.”
“I am an optimistic person. I don’t think America will impose more sanctions on us no matter what the newspapers write. And even if they [US] do, we’ll have to [live] with that as an independent nation.”
Razzaque cited the case of Egypt as an instance in support of his argument. He said the US continued supporting Egypt despite its government’s authoritarian rule backed by the military.
Speaking about the sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion, Razzaque said the Hasina administration had to be “realistic” to suppress terrorism. “How reasonable would it be if they [US] impose sanctions on us even after that.”