US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s claim of ‘Al-Qaida attacks’ in Bangladesh has elicited an angry response from Dhaka.
A Bangladesh government press note described Pompeo’s comment as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘unfortunate’.
A Bangladesh foreign ministry on Wednesday night rejected Pompeo’s remarks as baseless and debunked them as falsification.
The note said there is no evidence of any presence of ‘Al-Qaida’ in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, under the bold leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, maintains a “Zero Tolerance” policy against all forms of terrorism and violent extremism, it said.
Our track record in countering terrorism has earned us global appreciation, the note claimed.
“In line with our commitment to countering terrorism, we have become a party to all fourteen international counter-terrorism conventions and are actively involved with international ‘preventive’ initiatives to counter terrorism,” the note added.
Bangladesh considers that the US Secretary of State’s referring to Bangladesh as a possible location for Al-Qaida operations is indeed unfounded and offers no evidence, the press note said.
If any such claim could be substantiated with evidence, the Government of Bangladesh would be happy to take necessary measures against such activities, it added.
“However, if such a statement is made just in pursuit of speculation, Bangladesh considers it very unfortunate, specially in the context of the ever-growing bilateral ties between the two friendly countries based on shared values,” the press note asserted.
