US visa restrictions: Undisclosed names heightening panic among many
Staff Reporter :
Amid the heightening US visa restrictions, the government officials, judges, members of law enforcement agencies, members of armed forces division, media and ruling party members are in deep concerns as they are still in the dark whose names are in the list of restriction.
However, some names are circulating in different social media platforms and even speculative information is transmitting among different quarters that are trying to be confirmed through various channels to know about it.
Such situation has created much awe among those who are directly in different portfolios of the government.
Soon after the announcement of visa restriction, it sends an electrifying effect on the influential quarters as it came as a bolt from the blue because such announcement came three months before the parliamentary poll.
Media, however, tried to know the names in their list but the US government said that they would not share any name of individuals as this issue is confidential under their law.
Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has told the media that the US will not share the names of individuals who have received visa restrictions under this policy.
“Visa records, including individual visa denials, are confidential under US law.
What I can say is that we have looked very closely at incidents since we announced this policy.
After a careful review of the evidence, we have imposed visa restrictions on members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition,” he told the media.
Though US Ambassador Peter Haas has mentioned inclusion of media in the visa restriction policy, the United States Department of State refrained from mentioning media.
‘I will say that, as we noted when we announced these new visa restrictions on Friday, they include members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition,’ US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a regular media briefing on September 25.
He also said when the US Secretary of State announced the new visa policy in May, the purpose was not to take a side, but to ensure or to support free, fair, and peaceful national election in Bangladesh.
Clarifying the issue after US Ambassador Peter Haas’ remarks, the US Embassy in a Facebook post recently said, ‘We are applying the [visa restriction] policy in a balanced way against anyone [undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh] – regardless of being pro-government, opposition party, members of law enforcement agencies, members of the judiciary, or media persons.’
According to multiple sources, at least 236 bureaucrats, judges, members of law enforcement agencies, businessmen and political leaders are in the list.
Some police and armed forces officials have already been put under US visa restriction, multiple sources claimed.
US Department of State’s Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption Richard Nephew on August 6 held a meeting with Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain.
Nephew showed keen interest to work with the government agency to combat corruption including money laundering.
Since then, it has been airing that the US authority trying to find out Bangladesh citizens those who running business, bank balance and many infrastructures in the USA owned theses properties either legally or smuggled money from Bangladesh, sources said.
