BNP leaders meet US Deputy Assistant Secretary Afreen

It was the first meeting for the BNP leaders with any foreign delegation since their release from prison in February

Afreen Akhter, the US deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, has held an hour-long closed-door meeting with BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, declined to reveal if they discussed the recent election boycotted by the party, or jailing of senior leaders after the meeting held at a Dhaka hotel on Saturday afternoon.

None from the US delegation briefed the media after the meeting.

The high-level three-member delegation from the United States arrived in Dhaka this morning.

Besides Afreen, the American ambassador in Dhaka, Peter Haas, also attended the meeting, while Khosru and BNP Organizing Secretary Shama Obaid were members of the three-person delegation led by Fakhrul.

It was the first meeting for the BNP leaders with any foreign delegation since their release from prison earlier in February after a three-and-a-half-month detention.

Also, it was the first Bangladesh trip of a US delegation since the formation of the Awami League government for its fourth consecutive term.