Foreign secy Vikram Misri holds courtesy meeting with Jamaat chief

DHAKA: Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday held a courtesy meeting with Bangladesh's leader of opposition and chief of the country's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Shafiqur Rahman.

India has had a troubled past with Pakistan-leaning Jamaat-e-Islami which sided with Islamabad during the 1971 War of Liberation. The BNP-Jamaat govt 20 years ago was accused of providing safe havens to Indian insurgent groups.




The party has been on-and-off under legal bans. The ban was lifted during the term of the interim govt.

During the meeting - held on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of the new govt led by BNP chief and PM Tarique Rahman - Misri conveyed greetings to the JeI chief on his new role leader of opposition and reaffirmed India's enduring support to Bangladesh, underscoring the people-centric nature of the ties. Shafiqur at the meeting highlighted the deep civilisational bonds shared by the two countries and expressed hope for stronger bilateral ties.

Out of the 300 seats in the elections, results of two seats have been suspended, while election in one seat was cancelled following the death of a candidate. Of the 297 seats, BNP won 209 and JeI got 68.