US State Dept official due shortly
Diplomatic Correspondent
The United States government is sending a high official of the State Department instead of the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns to Dhaka to discuss affairs between Bangladesh and US.A highly placed source told The Daily Star yesterday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to know that the senior official will arrive shortly with a letter of appreciation over the government's anti-JMB crackdown. The source said the US appreciated the government's step of banning militant organisations and the crackdown on Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in the recent months. The US engages the Bangladesh government on a range of important issues including democracy, human rights, fighting corruption and counterterrorism. The source said the forthcoming general elections, and US cooperation in enhancing Bangladesh's capability to fight extremism will be the major points of discussions. The US State Department is expected to finalise the name of its official in a couple of days, the source added. Nicholas Burns changed his travel plan excluding Bangladesh from his tour of South Asia which starts on January 17. He will visit India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
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