Leaders of major political parties, including Awami League (AL), BNP and Jatiya Party (JP), yesterday told the US ambassador to Dhaka that the state of emergency must be lifted before holding parliamentary polls, scheduled for December.

The leaders and two lawyers gave the opinion during a two-hour "tea party" held at the residence of US Ambassador James Moriarty. They meeting started around 4:00pm.

Several issues, including national and upazila parishad elections, dialogue between the government and the political parties, ways to keep crime out of politics, restoration of democracy, reforms in political parties, India’s proposal for transit and import of power from India and Nepal, were discussed in the meeting.

"He [US ambassador] wanted to know our stance on the lifting of the emergency issue. All of us said a credible election cannot be held with the emergency enforced. It must go before any polls," a senior political leader, who attended the meeting, told The Daily Star last night.

The US envoy suggested that the political leaders take part in the dialogue with the government and in the parliamentary polls for the sake of establishing a democratic government and to have an economically sound country.

AL leaders Syed Ashraful Islam and Asaduzzaman Noor, BNP leaders Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf and Nazrul Islam Khan, JP leader Ruhul Amin Howlader, Jamaat leader M Kamaruzzaman, Progressive Democratic Party leader Abul Hasan Chowdhury Kaiser attended the meeting. A number of senior officials of the US embassy and USAID in Dhaka were also present.

Supreme Court Bar Association President and pro-AL lawyer barrister Shafique Ahmed and pro-BNP lawyer barrister Naushad Zamir also joined the meeting.

The leaders stressed the need for holding the national polls before the upazila parishad elections.

As Moriarty asked about the grounds for this opposition, they told him that the interim government is constitutionally bound to hold national polls.

On India's proposal for transit, the US ambassador and all the leaders and lawyers unanimously said Bangladesh should give transit to neighbouring countries, especially India.

Without mentioning India, the Jamaat leader proposed giving transit to Myanmar and Nepal.

The participants of the meeting said Bangladesh should be linked to the proposed Asian Highway to become a part of the global communication network and for economic benefits.

The US envoy wanted to know whether convicts would come out of jails when the state of emergency is lifted and trouble the elections. The leaders said there is no link between the lifting of the state of emergency and the release of convicts since the law would take its own course.

The US envoy suggested that the political leaders eliminate crime from politics. He said even the US had to struggle to bring democracy to the current state.

On reforms in political parties, the politicians told Moriarty that if the emergency is not lifted, it will not be possible for parties to carry out the necessary reforms as the parties must change their constitution, which require holding of a large meeting of around 10,000-15,000 party activists.