The U.S. and Bangladesh are working out a strategy to fight violent extremism in the South Asian nation, which saw a number of killings in recent months of activists and writers by alleged Islamists.
The plan, mooted by the U.S., is currently being discussed. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal had visited Bangladesh on May 5 following the recent murder of a USAID employee and his friend in Dhaka.
Another U.S. delegation is expected to visit Dhaka soon to discuss the counter-terrorism plan.
American Ambassador in Dhaka, Marcia Bernicat, said on Monday after holding a meeting with Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque that India, Bangladesh and the U.S. would work together in fighting extremism. “Absolutely we are on the same page [on the issue],” she said.
Ms. Biswal had met Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla and reportedly discussed security issues when she was in Dhaka last week.
The U.S. envoy’s comment came two days ahead of Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar’s visit to Dhaka.
Jaishankar’s visit Mr. Jaishankar, arriving here on Wednesday, will hold meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Shahidul Haque.
However Indian officials denied the reports of a trilateral counter-terror partnership saying that Mr. Jaishankar’s visit to Dhaka would discuss a “range of issues”, but they would be “strictly bilateral”.
Officials also pointed to the fact that there are many “divergences” between the American and Indian positions on extremism in the region, most notably over the ongoing war crime trials, as well as the groups responsible for the killing of bloggers.
“On the broader issue of the need to tackle terror, there are broad convergences, but that doesn’t mean a trilateral mechanism is in the works,” a senior official told The Hindu .
( With inputs from Suhasini Haidar in New Delhi )
