Minister brushes aside allegations against Rab

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam yesterday brushed aside the allegations raised by some US senators against Rab, terming those propaganda against Bangladesh.

"It's nothing new," he told reporters after a programme in the capital, claiming that some lobbyists were engaged in spreading such propaganda against the country.

Responding to a question, he said the issue was raised by a few persons (US senators) as part of their internal process and it has nothing to do with the government.

"Rab is an organisation of our pride. We have all the answers ready…," he said, adding that Bangladesh will react only if a state or an international organisation conveys anything to it.

US Senator Marco Rubio recently joined Senators Bob Menendez, Todd Young, Ben Cardin, Cory Gardner, Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, Chris Coons, Jeff Merkley and Cory Booker in calling on the Trump Administration to impose sanctions on senior commanders of Rab.

According to rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), the number of extrajudicial killings has dropped significantly as only nine such cases were recorded since August.