US envoy in Bangladesh meets Army chief Gen Zaman; India reaches out to BNP

The newly appointed United States Ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent T. Christensen on Jan 29, Thursday paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman at the army headquarters.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged greetings and discussed ways to further strengthen the existing cordial relations between Bangladesh and the United States, according to a notification from the Bangladesh Army. 

This is a signifucant development as the key meeting came just two weeks before Feb 12 much awaited elections in Bangladesh.

It is presumed that the Yunus-led dispensation and also NCP and Jamaat have been sidelined while the BNP has upper hand to win the polls. The Indian government has shown extra ordinary keenness to reach out to BNP and especially its leader Tarique Rehman.

Both the Houses of Indian Parliament on January 28th paid tributes to three-time prime minister of Bangladesh, the late Khaleda Zia, on the first day of the budget session 2026-27.

After moving the obituary reference in the Lok Sabha, the lower House,  Speaker Om Birla said Khaleda Zia's contribution to strengthening India-Bangladesh relations would always be remembered.

Khaleda Zia passed away on December 30, 2025. 

The Rajya Sabha, the upper House, also paid tributes to Khaleda.  Soon after the House met for the day and before the laying of papers, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Indian Vice President C P Radhakrishnan read out the obituary references for Khaleda Zia.

The House stood in silence as a mark of respect for the departed. Later the chairman said the Rajya Sabha Secretary General would convey to the members of the beloved families their condolences. 

"She was the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh and served in the office for three times between 1991 to 2006. She also served as the leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001.  Khaleda Zia made important contributions to the development of Bangladesh and to Indo-Bangladesh bilateral relations," the chairman said.

"The House joins the beloved family, the government and the people of Bangladesh in mourning the passing of her excellency Khaleda Zia," Radhakrishnan said.

Ends