Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday said there were no discussions with anyone about providing a "humanitarian corridor" to Myanmar's rebel-held Rakhine state.
"There are no talks about a corridor. We are not under any pressure - not from the US, not from anyone. We are engaging with everyone -- the US, China, all stakeholders. We are acting in our interest," Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' national security adviser Khalilur Rahman said.
He, however, said a discussion was underway with the United Nations, but it was focused on facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid such as food and medicine through some channels to the crisis-hit Rakhine state.
Rahman said any decision about such a corridor would be made in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
He said if Dhaka decides to allow the aid transportation to Rakhine through a cross-border aid channel, Bangladesh will only maintain the border security to scrutinise the aid items. "We can't give anyone any free pass”.
The security adviser's comments came a day after Yunus held a meeting on “law and order situation” with Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan.
The security adviser, foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain and home affairs adviser Lt Gen (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury were also present at the meeting.
According to a statement issued by Yunus' office, the meeting reviewed the law and order situation across the country based on reports presented by security officials.
Last month, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain said Dhaka agreed in principle with a UN proposal for a humanitarian corridor to Rakhine State, but certain conditions must be met for its implementation.
Amid growing speculation and fears that Bangladesh might get itself trapped in a proxy war over the corridor, Rahman said any decision on the issue would be made in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
Over 1.3 million Rohingyas have been crammed into makeshift camps in Bangladesh's southeastern part as they fled Myanmar's Rakhine following a brutal military crackdown in 2017.
Former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has said that it feared the government was doing something fishy, endangering the country's sovereignty.
"Please do not get into any agreements; do not ignore or neglect political parties and go against Bangladesh's interests," BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir recently said, referring to the corridor issue.
Last month, the BNP leader had said the interim government's "in-principle decision" to provide a humanitarian aid corridor from Bangladesh to the war-torn Rakhine in Myanmar will threaten the country's "independence and sovereignty".
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