BNP's letter to US; Info minister shows agreement paper with lobbyist firm

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday said BNP is now lying on an extreme level to defend them from the countrywide criticism due to their anti-state conspiracy letters to foreigners.

"BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir held a press conference on Tuesday and tried to defend them from the countrywide criticisms over the letters written by BNP to foreigners for stopping aid to Bangladesh and stop export trade, tarnish the country's image and appoint lobbyists," he said while exchanging views with reporters at his ministry at Secretariat today.

At the press conference, he (Fakhrul) finally admitted that he had written letters to foreigners, but he denied the allegations of asking to stop assistance," said the minister.

Hasan at the time presented some documents of agreements between BNP and lobby firms using BNP's Dhaka office address and some letters signed by BNP's secretary general to different departments of the United States.

He showed letters signed by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on BNP's official pad to Chairwoman on House Committee on Appropriations and Chairwoman on the subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes on April 17, 2019, and Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism on April 24, 2019.

The minister read out the last paragraph and said BNP urged the US to stop aid.

He said BNP used the address of their party office- 28 VIP Road, Nayapaltan, Dhaka, Bangladesh- in some agreements with lobby firms and Abdus Sattar signed those (agreements) on behalf of BNP. They did the same agreements by using address of abroad where Ziaul Islam signed, he added.

"Despite BNP's continued lies and conspiracies against the country, Bangladesh has been elected as the chair of the Peace Building Commission of the US," said the minister,

Besides, the US Congress member and Chairman of Foreign Affairs House Committee Gregory W Meeks said the US government would work continuously with the Bangladesh government, added Hasan.