U.S. has not sought help: Dhaka

By Our Special Correspondent

DHAKA, SEPT. 17. Bangladesh has denied it received any U.S. request for airspace and port facilities in the event of an attack on Afghanistan.

Mr. Shafi Sami, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told newsmen today, ``My answer is no,'' when asked to comment on a newspaper report which suggested that the U.S. Government had sought permission from Bangladesh for using a number of strategic facilities for a possible attack on Afghanistan or other terrorist havens in the region,``if the need arises.''

Asked how Bangladesh, which had earlier condemned the terrorist attacks, would respond if the U.S. made such a request, the spokesman of the interim Government, who was recently appointed as the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, Mr. Justice Latifur Rahman, said, ``we will cross the bridge when we come to it.''

Press reports also said Mr. Sami had convened a meeting of former Foreign Ministers and Foreign Secretaries on Sunday to discuss the U.S. request.

Mr. Sami said Bangladesh abhorred terrorism in all its forms and the President, Mr. Shahabuddin Ahmed, and Mr. Justice Latifur Rahman had already condemned the tragic incidents. ``There has been a consensus and unanimity in Bangladesh in condemning the terrorist attacks on the United States.''

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has said about 50 Bangladeshis were feared killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, but they could identify only a few of them so far.

The caretaker Government has denied the presence of any Taliban leader in the country, though a high-powered delegation of the Awami League, which ruled the country for the last five years, on Sunday apprised the President of its ``concern'' over the reported infiltration of Taliban leaders into Bangladesh.

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Section  : International
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