"If Taliban forms a govt of the people" then Bangladesh will accept it, says Minister

Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said his country will accept the government in Afghanistan formed by Taliban if "it's a government of the people".

"No matter which new government is formed, if a Taliban government is formed, which has been done, our door will be open to them if it is a government of the people," Momen said on Monday.

"We believe in the democratic government of the people," the foreign minister said, adding that Bangladesh has friendly relations with all the governments and was ready to support them.

The ministry in a statement to IANS said Bangladesh is carefully observing the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan, "which, we believe, may have an impact on the region and beyond".

Afghanistan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, Momen said, mentioning, Afghanistan, the war-torn country is a "friendly state" for Bangladesh. "We want their development. We want development of all with everyone," he added.

One of the Bangladeshi prisoners contacted the authorities after the Taliban freed the inmates. The two others are unaccounted for. A total of 15 Bangladeshis were known to be in Kabul. They included 12 workers of an NGO, BRAC International and three prisoners.

Three BRAC workers returned home on Friday before the Taliban entered the capital and six others took shelter at the home of the organisation's country director.

Bangladeshi workers

Three other Bangladeshi workers of BRAC were out of the country on vacation. They have been asked not to return to Afghanistan.

"Bangladesh and Afghanistan share historical and cultural linkages. It is a fellow member of SAARC and an integral part of South Asia," the foreign ministry said in the statement.

Recalling the "invaluable support" extended by the government and the people of Afghanistan to Bangladesh during our War of Liberation from Pakistan, the foreign ministry said Bangladesh is committed to working with Afghanistan for fulfilling the policy of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the region must grow and prosper together for this development to be sustainable.

"Bangladesh believes that a democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan as chosen by its people is the only guarantee of stability and development in the country" The ministry mentioned that Bangladesh considered itself a "potential development partner and a friend of Afghanistan".