No foreign pressure over national election

Staff Reporter :
There is no foreign pressure on the government over the upcoming parliamentary polls, said Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq. The Ministry also received a petition seeking another extended suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s jail term sent by the Home Ministry.
The Law Minister said this while talking to reporters after a meeting with the ambassadors of Denmark, Italy,
Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France led by EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley at the Secretariat on Thursday.
He categorically said that the government would not listen to anyone’s advice about the country’s internal affairs as Bangladesh is an independent country.
Asked if there was any discussion on participatory elections, the Law Minister said, “We want a participatory election. We want everyone to take part in the election. I can also say that there is no question that the upcoming elections in Bangladesh will be free, fair and neutral.”
Replying to another query regarding any foreign pressure on the government centering the upcoming national polls, he replied, “If foreigners want to know (about election), we don’t mind telling them about it as we do not do politics of killings or lies. We don’t hide anything, so we have no objection and no hesitation to let the diplomats know about it.”
The government will do whatever is good for the citizens of Bangladesh as an independent nation, he added.
Anisul Huq said, “The government will not go outside the Constitution. The election will be held in the way as mentioned in the Constitution. So, we want all the political parties of Bangladesh to take part in the election. But it’s up to the political parties who will take part in the election or not.”
Regarding BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s petition, the Law Minister said, “We have received a file from the Home Ministry today regarding the extension of Khaleda Zia’s conditional release. We’ll send it back to the Home Ministry with our recommendations,”
Asked whether the BNP chief will be allowed to go abroad this time, Anisul Huq said, “He still didn’t see the file. But I can say that the previous conditions will remain in our recommendations.”
Earlier, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s younger brother Shamim Eskandar submitted a fresh application recently to the Home Ministry seeking extension of her release period.
In the application, he asked to relax the conditions of her release and allow taking her abroad for treatment.
The government extended Khaleda’s conditional release in the two corruption cases several times.
The former prime minister was sent to Old Dhaka Central Jail after she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018.
She was convicted in a second corruption case later.
The 77-year-old BNP chief has been staying at her Gulshan residence since her release. A special team of her personal physicians has been overseeing her treatment.