[1]Bangladesh rolled out the red carpet for President Pranab Mukherjee, who arrived here Sunday on a three-day state visit, but his trip came under a shadow as key Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia cancelled her meeting with him amid a Jamaat-e-Islami general strike in protest over the conviction of three top leaders for 1971 war crimes.
Mr Mukherjee, 77, on his first foreign visit as President, arrived in a country marred by continuous violence that has claimed nearly 80 lives.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has called a nationwide shutdown Tuesday, the last day of Mr Mukherjee’s visit, cited no reason officially to call off Begum Zia’s meeting with the President. Her political adviser Shamser Mobin Chowdhury is said to have told the Indian government a few days back of her inability to meet Mr Mukherjee.
Interestingly, Begum Khaleda met Mr Mukherjee in New Delhi in November 2012 during her nine-day India visit.
However, the strike or cancellation of the Khaleda meet did little to distract from the President’s main agenda of intensive interaction with top Bangladeshi leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, foreign minister Dipu Moni and finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. Mr Mukherjee discussed several major issues like the Teesta water-sharing treaty and the 1974 land boundary agreement, and promised India remained committed to sort out these unresolved issues.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/hm1jpg-634