She said, although the Bangladesh government recently apprehended the JMB kingpins, there is no significant development in the investigations of those sensitive cases.

The US government is unhappy, Butenis commented after learning from Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran that such attacks in the Sylhet region remain unsolved till date. She called on him at his office yesterday afternoon.

However, she hoped the authorities will be more attentive in solving the crimes. The ambassador was on a short visit to the north-eastern divisional headquarters of the country for the first time.

The US expects a peaceful atmosphere so that the nation can have a free and fair parliamentary election, she said.

When ruling BNP and opposition Awami League are in continuous feuds, the people of Bangladesh will decide how to handle critical issues and serious challenges like terrorism, obstacles to democracy, and who are to run the country, she added.

Referring to her meet with Opposition Leader Sheikh Hasina, the ambassador said, "I told her it will be better to participate in the polls, since that is the only way to earn the people's mandate. I hope she will face the polls."

During a close door meet with the US ambassador, the Sylhet mayor informed her that the police could not make any headway in the sensitive cases like the grenade attack on the British high commissioner.

The ambassador also wanted to know about the major problems the mayor and the city residents are facing. Kamran pointed out water stagnation, crisis of drinking water and power crisis as some of the major crises in the city.

Earlier, in the morning, the US ambassador formally inaugurated the first-ever workshop of the Bangladesh Association of American Studies (BAAS) for college teachers at a hotel in the city.

Addressing the workshop Butenis said Bangladesh should not take for granted its priceless quality of tolerance. She told the teachers, "You are responsible for teaching the importance of resolving differences peacefully."

"As the world shrinks, there is increasing pressure on close neighbours to find ways for getting along. The education you give your students should serve them well throughout their lives and teach them to avoid extremism and intolerance. That is an awe-inspiring responsibility, but I believe that teaching is a noble calling. Teaching American studies, will in ways big and small, promote tolerance and understanding," she said.

The US ambassador also visited the American Corner, set up at Sylhet International University in the city. Vice-chancellor Professor Sadruddin Ahmed Chowdhury welcomed her on the campus.

Butenis also visited a health clinic, Surjer Hashi, run by Sylhet Samaj Kalyan Sangstha (SSKS), an NGO financed by USAID. A US energy company, Chevron, engaged at Bibiyana gas field of Nabiganj upazila established the primary heath care centre through SSKS in May last year. The ambassador formally inaugurated an ambulance service for the centre.