Dhaka, October 03: Bangladesh has made it clear it will not send its troops to Afghanistan while refuting reports that the US had requested the country to contribute soldiers to the war-torn nation.
“Bangladesh will not send soldiers to Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a meeting of ruling Awami League’s advisory council late on Saturday, according to the ‘Samakal’ newspaper.
Quoting insiders, the newspaper said, Hasina conveyed her government’s “precise stand” on sending soldiers to Afghanistan as several members of the council, comprising senior party leaders, opposed the idea of sending combat forces to the war-ravaged nation citing “public sentiments”.
Prime Minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad could not immediately confirm the premier’s comments but the ‘Prothom Alo’ newspaper supplemented the Samakal report, saying Hasina agreed with the advisory as they said Bangladeshis had a reservation regarding the US military intervention in Afghanistan.
–Agencies