United News of Bangladesh

Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has sought stronger United Nations support for the deployment of Bangladeshi peacekeepers and police personnel to UN peacekeeping missions. He made the call during separate bilateral meetings with two UN under-secretaries-general in New York on Monday, according to the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations. During his meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the minister reaffirmed Bangladesh’s long-standing commitment to UN peacekeeping and requested support for the early verification of Rapid Deployment Level (RDL) status for Bangladeshi Formed Police Units (FPUs). He also sought greater deployment of Bangladeshi individual police officers, consideration of a Bangladesh FPU in current or future UN peacekeeping missions, and increased leadership and professional positions for Bangladeshi officers at UN Headquarters and in field missions. Lacroix appreciated Bangladesh’s sustained contribution to UN peacekeeping and its readiness to provide trained and capable police personnel to meet evolving mission requirements. He also praised Bangladesh’s active and constructive role in multilateral diplomacy. In a separate meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare, the home minister discussed operational and logistical support for Bangladesh’s planned specialised police deployments to Haiti. The discussions covered contingent-owned equipment, shipment arrangements and reimbursement issues related to the deployment. Khare commended Bangladesh’s significant contributions to UN peacebuilding and peacekeeping operations and assured continued operational support for Bangladeshi peacekeepers, the release said.

Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday expressed hope that India would return former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh under the existing extradition treaty between the two countries. “We still expect the Indian government to return her through legal procedures under the extradition treaty between the two countries. We want her to face trial,” he said at a dialogue organised by the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at Secretariat. Replying to a question regarding media reports that Sheikh Hasina may return to the country and discussions over a possible travel pass, Salahuddin said Bangladesh had repeatedly sent letters to the Indian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking her extradition. The minister also said the government is working to formulate a new law to strictly control gambling, betting and online gambling activities. “We hope, InshaAllah, we will place the draft law in the next parliamentary session,” he said, adding that the existing gambling law dates back to 1867 and is outdated.