When Haas is called then leaders are found, why not of their own free will?

Meanwhile, BNP says that America has come up with this visa policy because of the ridiculous elections of 2014 and 2018, which have taken away the voting rights of the people. The aim of the BNP movement is free and fair elections and hence this visa policy definitely does not target them.

Against the backdrop of these controversies, US Ambassador Peter Haas invited leaders of the Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party to his residence in May. He held a meeting with these leaders for about two hours. On behalf of the Awami League, the party’s Information and Research Secretary Selim Mahmood and central leader Mohammad A. Arafat attended the meeting. BNP leaders who attended the meeting included party standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmood Chowdhury and international affairs committee member Shama Obaid. Representing the Jatiya Party were party general secretary Mujibul Haq and presidium member Major Rana Mohammad Sohail (retd).

At the end of the meeting, the US Embassy in Dhaka posted Peter Haas’ message on its Facebook page. He said he supports free and fair elections and that the new policy of visa restrictions applies to anyone seeking to undermine the democratic process.

This means that America is not only concerned about the elections, but also keeps a close eye on the democratic process. His visa policy was also implemented in some countries in Africa and Cambodia, but only after the elections. This announcement was made a few months before the elections in Bangladesh.

I do not recall Awami League and BNP leaders meeting together on any occasion except this meeting with the US Ambassador. Then on Wednesday, two influential leaders of Awami League and BNP, Kazi Zafarullah and Selima Rehman respectively, were both seen at the ‘Youth Talk: Citizen Expectations’ conference. The keynote speaker at the conference was US Ambassador Peter Haas. The Prothom Alo photo of the event shows Peter Haas sitting in the middle, flanked by Awami League’s Qazi Zafarullah and BNP’s Selima Rehman. Jatiya Party presidium member Fakhrul Imam was also present.