Washington has once again become active in the country’s politics as the charge d’ affaires of the US embassy in Dhaka on Sunday held meetings with leaders of the Awami League and the pro-government faction of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Geeta Pasi, accompanied by embassy officials, met Awami League leader Zillur Rahman and others and acting chairperson M Saifur Rahman of the so-called reformist faction of the BNP.

The diplomat later said she and her colleagues would meet with other political leaders over the next few weeks and discuss the same issues, especially the pending general elections in Bangladesh.

This is the first major political development involving the US mission after foreign diplomats played a critical role in the events that led up to January 11, 2007 when the state of emergency was declared and the general elections scheduled for January 22 were suspended.