DHAKA, 2 August 2004 — Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said here yesterday that Dhaka’s stand on dispatch of troops to Iraq remains unchanged. Bangladesh made it clear that it would never send troops to any foreign country “either to shoot or to be shot.”
Dhaka will not send troops to Iraq without UN mandate, he said
US Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the issue with Saudi officials during his visit to Saudi Arabia on July 29.
In reply to a question, Khan said there were so many things needed to be discussed before considering any such request or proposal. He, however, said that Bangladesh was keeping a close watch on developments in Iraq.
Bangladesh, a top contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, has refused to commit troops to Iraq under US command.
Dhaka had reiterated its firm stand of not sending troops to Iraq even when US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Bangladesh recently. Earlier, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said Bangladesh had rejected a proposal to contribute to the Muslim security force in Iraq.
