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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh u-turn on former PMs | Bangladesh u-turn on former PMs |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Bangladesh's emergency government has lifted all restrictions on two of the country's most powerful politicians, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. | |
| Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina was no longer banned from returning from abroad, a government statement said. | |
| It also said there were no restrictions on the movements of her arch rival Khaleda Zia, who has been held under virtual house arrest in Dhaka. | |
| She has reportedly been under pressure to go into exile in Saudi Arabia. | She has reportedly been under pressure to go into exile in Saudi Arabia. |
| 'Under threat' | |
| "All restrictions on the two former prime ministers are lifted," the government statement said. | |
| The military-backed government says it wants an end to corruption | |
| "The government is lifting the restrictions [on Sheikh Hasina] in view of the views expressed in the media and different quarters." | |
| The statement made no reference to comments by the US State Department earlier on Wednesday that democracy in Bangladesh was under threat. | |
| "If the caretaker government does not take right decisions, there is a real threat to Bangladesh democracy and nobody wants to see that," spokesman Sean McCormack said. | |
| The government's statement went on to say that - contrary to media reports - there had never been any pressure on Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia to leave the country, and there were no restrictions on her freedom of movement. | |
| Her family said last week that they had been told to prepare for imminent exile in Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi Arabian government reportedly declined to allow her into the country - apparently because it was reluctant to take in an unwilling guest. | |
| 'Clout' | |
| Attempts by the government to find another country for her to go into exile seem to have failed. | |
| The BBC's John Sudworth in Dhaka says that after days of political manoeuvring with the intention of sending the country's two most powerful political leaders into exile, the emergency government has seemingly backed down. | |
| Sheikh Hasina, who was prevented from flying back to Dhaka on Sunday, has now been told that she can return. | |
| Members of the emergency government had said that reform of the political system would be impossible with the two former prime ministers still on the scene. | |
| Our correspondent says the two women seem to have won this particular battle with the government - which is perhaps a sign of just how much political clout they still wield. |