Indian foreign secretary begins first viist to Bangladesh

Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh arrived here on Wednesday for her first visit to Bangladesh amid widespread violence across the country. She is expected to discuss political crisis with the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties. Shortly after arrival in Dhaka, she held a half-an-hour meeting with Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and told the reporters that she had a very good discussion. She did not elaborate. Singh is scheduled to call on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She is also scheduled to meet Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, who ruled Bangladesh for nearly nine years from 1982 to 1990, and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, also chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). This is her first visit to Bangladesh after taking over as foreign secretary in August this year. The visit came when Khaleda's main opposition alliance continued blockade which triggered widespread violence, leaving nearly 50 people dead and hundreds of others injured since Nov. 26 in Dhaka and elsewhere. The BNP and its allies are pushing for postponement of the election slated for Jan. 5 next year. Hasina's ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party has already formed an interim cabinet to oversee the poll despite the main opposition BNP and its allies have threatened to boycott the election. Ershad's Jatiya Party, which was a key ally of AL until last month, announced Tuesday that it won't participate in the election. No poll aspirant from BNP and its 17 allies including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party has submitted nomination paper. The deadline for submission of nomination papers was Dec. 2. Bangladesh's main opposition on Monday extended its ongoing 72- hour nationwide blockade until Thursday evening to push for the postponement of the scheduled election. Clashes between opposition protesters and AL activists flared in many places on Wednesday. At least five passengers were reportedly killed and 50 others injured when a train derailed after miscreants removed fish plates from rail tracks in Gaibandha, some 268 km north of capital Dhaka, on the fifth day of the opposition-sponsored blockade of rail, road and waterway. On the fourth day of the blockade nine were people killed. In the backdrop of unabated violence, Bangladesh's major development partners including China, the European Union and the U. S. have urged the country's political parties to end the impasse through dialogue. Bangladesh's opposition parties think the neighboring India can help Dhaka end the crisis as Delhi has special relation with Hasina's government. Khaleda Zia has asked Hasina to bring back a non-party caretaker system to ensure a free and fair election.