Taliban warns Bangladesh against sending troops to Afghanistan

The Taliban has warned Bangladesh not to send its troops to Afghanistan following a plea by US to help the multi-national forces bring stability in the war-torn nation.

Richard Holbrooke, the US Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, made the plea for Bangladeshi troops to foreign minister Dipu Moni at a meeting in New York.    

Besides deploying troops, Washington also wants Dhaka to assist in training Afghan law enforcement agencies and provide economic and development assistance to the country, according to foreign ministry officials here.

The USA monitoring service SITE intelligence group published a report with the headline "Afghan Taliban reacts to US requesting troops from Bangladesh" in this regard on September 27.

The Taliban told Bangladesh to refuse the US request to deploy combat troops in Afghanistan. 

Describing Bangladesh as America's important friend, Holbrooke told Moni that US needed help to ensure security in Afghanistan, a government statement said here. 

Moni assured the US envoy of further talks on the issue, reports BBC Bengali Service. 

The foreign minister had told the US envoy that Dhaka would do its best to help restore peace in Afghanistan, as calm in the war-torn nation will lead to the stability in South Asia.

Though Bangladesh has no troops in Afghanistan, it is a major contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping missions across the world. 

The US has praised her campaign against terrorism in country amid earlier warning that Islamist militants may be trying to regroup in the country. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has looked beyond her borders to tackle the terror menace by floating the idea of a regional terror mechanism involving all states in South Asia. 

She has underlined her government's determination to root out terrorism from Bangladesh.