Sanctions: Bangladesh close to a decision on how it’ll proceed on legal front

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said the government is now close to a decision on how it will proceed on the legal front apart from exploring ways through diplomatic channels to get the sanctions imposed by the US on individuals withdrawn.

While talking to a small group of reporters at his office, he said they have talked to three legal firms and will take the best advice from those firms. "We'll hopefully come to a decision this week."

Responding to a question, the state minister said they have enough capacity to tackle the matter – either on legal front or diplomatic front – and said the government of Bangladesh does not want to involve a third country in this process.

He said Bangladesh and the United States will see more engagements through a number of bilateral platforms including "Partnership Dialogue" in the coming months.

Earlier, Bangladesh conveyed its "discontent" over the designated sanctions imposed by the US Departments of Treasury and of State on some of the present and former officials of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

Bangladesh says the decision was taken "unilaterally" by the US Administration without any prior consultation with the government of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh also underscored the need for pursuing the pathway of dialogue, engagement and collaboration.