The murder of a Saudi embassy official, Khalaf Al Ali, in Dhaka by unidentified assailants in the high security diplomatic enclave at upmarket Gulshan area of the city is highly regrettable and deeply saddening.
We express our utmost grief and condolence at the shocking incident and convey our deep sympathy to the bereaved family of the deceased, his colleagues at the embassy and to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We are particularly perturbed at this grievous murder since this is for the first time that any employee of an embassy has been killed in this way in the city.
As reported in the media, the victim was shot by the culprits at dead of night near his residence. Being informed by a security guard of another embassy, the police came to the spot and took the critically injured Saudi embassy official to a private hospital where he died in the morning. The incident calls for further beefing up the security situation of the diplomatic zone, to avoid any repetition of such deplorable incident in the future. Since the diplomats and other members on the staff of the foreign missions are our valued guests, we must ensure every possible measure to ensure their safety in this country.
We hope the undesirable incident will not in any way leave a negative impact on the cordial bilateral relations that now exist between the two countries. And given the history of brotherly relationship between the peoples and the governments of these two nations, it is further expected that the incident would be looked upon in its right perspective and treated as such by the general public and the media in Saudi Arabia.
Since the incident is highly sensitive, we would like to caution all quarters including the opposition against making any irresponsible remark or any attempt at trying to capitalise the incident to fulfil their narrow personal or political end.
We urge upon the government to mount an expeditious investigation into the murder so that the killers could be caught and brought to book within the shortest possible time.