Foreign Ministry braced for showdown as heads of 13 missions likely to come in Wednesday

The ambassadors or high commissioners of the 13 foreign missions that issued a joint statement last week after a candidate was assaulted by ruling party activists during a by-election to the Dhaka-17 constituency, are all likely to jointly visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Wednesday. 

The government is likely to convey its displeasure to the envoys over the issuance of the joint statement, considering it as meddling in the country's internal affairs.

The statement called for a full investigation and accountability for the perpetrators of the assault on independent candidate Ashraful Alom, better known as Hero Alom.

In the joint statement, the foreign missions had said, "We condemn the July 17 attack on Dhaka-17 constituency candidate Ashraful Alom, popularly known as Hero Alam. Violence has no place in the democratic process."

"Everyone involved in the upcoming elections should ensure that they are free, fair, and peaceful," said the diplomatic missions in Dhaka.

The joint statement was signed by the embassies/high commissions of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and the delegation of the European Union.