Foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Wednesday assured that all Bangladeshis stranded in Nepal, including members of the national football team, were safe and would be able to return once the situation there normalised.
鈥楢s long as the situation does not improve, we can do nothing. Their return will be possible as soon as flights between Dhaka and Kathmandu resume normal operations,鈥� he said at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Touhid ruled out the possibility of bringing them back through India, saying none of them held an Indian visa. 鈥楽o, we have to wait.鈥�
The adviser said that a positive gesture was seen during the unrest when protesters, while searching hotels for political leaders, encountered the Bangladeshi footballers but moved away without disturbing them.
鈥楾hey have no negative feelings towards us, and I do not anticipate any crisis,鈥� Touhid said, assuring that Bangladeshi nationals in Nepal remained safe amid the unrest.
He noted that the embassy in Kathmandu had been maintaining constant communication with those stranded. 鈥榃e hope everyone will return safely, but it will take some time.鈥�
On another note, Touhid said that Bangladesh would respond positively if the United Nations sought to deploy Bangladeshi peacekeepers in a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine.
鈥業t is for the United Nations to decide, and hopefully there will be a ceasefire between the two sides,鈥� Touhid observed, noting that only then the UN moved forward with concrete steps.
聽Highlighting Bangladesh鈥檚 long-standing contribution to global peacekeeping, the adviser added, 鈥楪iven our experience, if such a situation arises, we would definitely want to participate.鈥�
About the Joint Rivers Commission meeting held in New Delhi over water-sharing agreements between Bangladesh and India, the adviser said that he had not yet received any update.
鈥極nce I get the information, I will let you know,鈥� he added.