US sanctions against RAB will stay: State Department

US sanctions against RAB will stay: State Department

Dhaka, May 17 - The United States has said the sanctions imposed against Bangladesh's elite force RAB are not being withdrawn.

"Those claims are false. The U.S. is not withdrawing sanctions against the RAB," said Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the US Department of State Vedant Patel.

In a regular briefing at the US Department of State, he said sanctions are intended to change "behaviour and promote accountability".

Nobody from the government of Bangladesh claimed that the US is withdrawing the sanctions.

"The issue is with the US Department of Justice which is independent and separate from the White House and the State Department. They work independently," PM's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman told reporters earlier on Tuesday night in Dhaka.

Salman said the White House and the US Department of State are in favour of lifting sanctions on the RAB but it depends on the Department of Justice.

"The issue is moving through a process," Salman said after his discussion over dinner with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu who was on a three-day visit here last week.-UNB