Govt will guarantee full protection of all diplomats: foreign minister

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen today said there is no reason to worry about the security of foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka.

"Our government will guarantee full protection of all diplomats," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Have you ever heard that any diplomat was killed in Bangladesh? Why do you fear?" Momen said referring to a bomb blast during BNP-Jamaat tenure when the then British high commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury was injured.

Responding to a question, Momen said he does not see any scope of a deterioration of the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the US due to a tiny incident. "It's a multifaceted relationship."

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US reiterates its concerns over Haas’s security

He said Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Muhammad Imran had a prescheduled meeting originally scheduled to be held over the phone. Later, the meeting was held in person.

The US side said they raised the December 14 incident at the "highest levels" of the Bangladesh government, as well as with the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC.

"The ambassador [Peter Haas] is a bit panicked about his security. Our ambassador said there is no reason to panic," Momen said.

Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said there was no lack of security when US Ambassador Peter Haas visited Dhaka's Shaheenbagh area recently.

While talking to reporters at the Secretariat, he said police personnel rushed to the spot immediately.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said the situation that US Ambassador Peter Haas faced could not be seen as a "security threat".