Participatory election, overall election process and Chittagong Hill Tracts issues were briefly discussed at a meeting over lunch with US Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu held at Foreign Service Academy on Sunday.

Awami League International Affairs Secretary Dr. Shammi Ahmed, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed, Dr. Lailufar Yasmin, Dr. Delwar Hossain and Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan, among others, were present.

“They (US side) said, we don’t speak on behalf of any political party; we talk about certain processes and the rights of the people,” said Syeda Rizwana while talking to the reporters after the meeting.

She said only participation of the BNP and other parties and the election process were discussed and there was no further discussion on any other aspects of the election scenario in Bangladesh.

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She mentioned that no BNP leader was present at the meeting.

According to a meeting source, two of the participants expressed optimism about the BNP’s participation in the next election.

 “There was no conclusive discussion about human rights issues, but the Chittagong Hill Tracts issue was discussed during the meeting,” said Syeda Rizwana in response to another question.

The US senior official is visiting Bangladesh to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relationships, expand economic engagement, and go over the labor and human rights situation.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen hosted the lunch in honour of Donald Lu and his delegation members.