Bangladesh News

A warm reception was accorded to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia when she flew in here yesterday to attend an emergency meeting of the executive committee of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) on the Lebanon situation.

In the OIC meeting, beginning today at Hotel Marriot in Putrajaya, the administrative city of Malaysia, Bangladesh will call for immediate and unconditional ceasefire with a “total cessation of violence in Lebanon”, according to an official source.

Bangladesh will also make a strong plea for “urgent deployment of an international force” under the auspices of the United Nations for stabilising the

Israeli-Lebanon border.

A guard of honor was given to the prime minister at the VVIP tarmac of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on her arrival.

She was later taken to the presentation line of Malaysian dignitaries and Bangladesh officials in Malaysia.

A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines that carried the prime minister and her entourage landed at the airport at 10:10pm Malaysian local time.

Airport formalities over, Prime Minister Khaleda drove in a ceremonial motorcade to Hotel Nikko in Kuala Lumpur where she will stay during her visit.

A total of 18 member-countries have been invited to the emergency meeting of the executive committee of the OIC, said Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan.

On the sidelines of the conference, the prime minister may have bilateral meetings with the Malaysian and the Pakistani prime ministers.

The prime minister is scheduled to return home at midnight today.