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Bangladesh's First President

Tarique's claim astonishes Alan Duncan

Says Shahriar Alam

Diplomatic Correspondent
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam yesterday said visiting UK minister Alan Duncan had expressed astonishment over BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman's claim that his father Ziaur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh.
"They (British) are surprised.. .they are also not getting any explanation why a political party suddenly comes up with a distorted version of hi story. They expressed their surprise," he told reporters quoting Duncan as saying yesterday.
After a meeting with Duncan, the British minister of state for international development, at his office, Shahriar said the issue came up when he referred to Tarique's recent statement in London and asked for the British government's views.
About bringing back Tarique from the UK, Shahriar claimed that there was no warrant against him right now. "There're certain procedures. Once a warrant is issued, only then we can act." The home ministry will look into the matter, he added.
In response to a query, the state minister said Duncan did not raise any question on the acceptability of the January 5 elections. "They're going to meet Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushan Ershad," he said, adding that it made clear their position.
He also said the British minister expressed satisfaction as the "country is back to business", and Bangladeshis got back relief after the January 5 elections.
Meanwhile, Duncan expressed satisfaction over the discussion with Shahriar Alam, and gave assurance of continued cooperation with the government.
"I had a very good meeting. Particularly we spoke about the future of the millennium development goals (MDGs) because Bangladesh is very important for our development efforts from the UK," he told journalists after the meeting.
About the garment industry issues, Duncan said all NGOs, the government and
other stakeholders needed to work together to modernise the sector.
Duncan who arrived on Monday to weigh the progress on health and safety standards in the garment industry also met Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Labour Minister Mojibul Haque Chunnu and Raushan Ershad yesterday.
He will press for political dialogue to strengthen democratic accountability in Bangladesh during his stay in Dhaka. Duncan is due to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today.