US embassy clarifies home minister’s comment
Clarifying things over Home Minster Asaduzzaman Khan's comments, the US embassy yesterday said Assistant Secretary Donald Lu, during his visit to Dhaka, did not indicate a time frame for lifting the sanctions on Rab.
Talking to reporters at the Secretariat on Monday, the home minister said the US sanctions on Rab would be lifted soon as Lu had expressed his satisfaction over the force's recent activities.
In response, Jeff Ridenour, spokesperson for the US embassy in Dhaka, yesterday told The Daily Star, "Lu praised the Bangladesh government for the dramatic reduction last year in the number of allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances by the Rab.
"We applaud the government of Bangladesh's efforts in these continued reforms and encourage the Bangladesh government to conduct independent investigations of alleged extrajudicial killings."
On Monday, Asaduzzaman Khan also said he discussed some issues with Lu in a cordial atmosphere on Sunday and informed him about the challenges of tackling terrorism, militancy and Islamic extremism.
Lu, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, was in Bangladesh on a two-day trip on January 14-15.
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