(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Amid the countrywide blockade and 72-hour general strike, a delegation of the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights is set to arrive in Dhaka today to witness human rights situation in Bangladesh.
Christian Dan Preda, vice-chair of the subcommittee on the human rights, will lead the three-member delegation, said an official yesterday.
The delegation will start work from Tuesday for three days, said the official.
The delegation will meet Bangladesh parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali and Law Minister Anisul Huq.
Though there is no scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia yet, the delegation might meet Zia before wrapping up their visit,
according to a diplomatic source.
Though the objective of the visit is human rights issues, the current political situation might come up on the discussion table, said the source.
During their visit, the delegation would also hold meetings with civil society members and non-governmental
organisations.
Earlier, the European Parliament, in a resolution, urged the BNP to cut ties with Islamist outfits Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefajat and firmly said the political parties associated with 'terrorist acts' in Bangladesh should be banned.
"The European Parliament urges the BNP to unequivocally distance itself from Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefajat-e Islam".
The BNP which boycotted the January-5 elections enforced countrywide transport blockade and strike programmes demanding fresh polls under a neutral administration.
UN DENIES PLAN TO SEND EMISSARY: The United Nations (UN) has no plan to send its Assistant Secretary General for Peace-building Support Oscar Fernandez Taranco, to mediate between ruling Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to resolve the current standoff in Bangladesh, said an official in Dhaka yesterday.
He also said there has been no such communication between the Bangladesh government and the UN. "Usually, the UN needs to inform Bangladesh government first before such visit," he said.
Asked whether Taranco is coming to Dhaka again to mediate with the Awami League and BNP, deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, said: "We've no new comment to issue for now."
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