US visa policy will help Bangladesh holding free and fair elections

Uzra Zeya, the US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, said on Thursday that her country‍‍`s announcement of the new visa policy was intended to support Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina‍‍`s pledge to hold free, fair, and impartial elections.

Ihsanul Karim, the press secretary for the prime minister, informed reporters during a briefing that she made the comment when visiting the premier at the Gono Bhaban.

Zeya was quoted as saying to the PM, “We don‍‍`t have any bias toward any party; we just want an impartial, free, and fair election.”

The country‍‍`s free and fair elections, according to the prime minister, are important to her.

“We have previously held free and fair elections in the country. We always fought for free and fair election in the country,” PM told Zeya.

PM also said that the BNP was responsible for the country‍‍`s first vote manipulation. She mentioned the introduction of transparent voting boxes for elections in this context.

She noted how the Awami League consistently advocated for human rights. She continued, "We constantly fight for the people‍‍`s right to pick their representatives.

Hasina recalled the atrocities, terrorism activities and arson attacks of BNP and their allies during 2013-15 that left 500 people killed.

Rohingya Issue

Zeya informed the PM that she spoke to refugees from Myanmar while visiting camps for Rohingya Muslims.

She emphasized the importance of stepping up coordinated international efforts to guarantee that the Rohingyas are returned to their ancestral home of Myanmar.

She stated that the US will provide roughly $74 million toward the costs of running the Rohingya camps.

Sheikh Hasina deserves a lot of credit for welcoming such a sizable number of Rohingyas to Bangladesh, in her opinion.

Hasina said Bangladesh is currently hosting more than one million Ronhigyas in two different areas of the country.

Additionally, she made mention of the fact that these camps are home to anti-social behavior and human trafficking, both of which are extremely concerning for the security of the nation.

Salman F Rahman, the adviser to the prime minister on private industry and investment, Masud Bin Momen, Mohammad Salahuddin, the ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States, Mohammad Imran, US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu, and US Ambassador Peter Haas were all present.