A senior US State Department official began Saturday a two-day visit to Bangladesh for talks with government and political leaders on the upcoming general election, Foreign Ministry sources were quoted by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher was expected to assess the political situation and call for peaceful, credible and non-violent elections during his second visit to Bangladesh in three months, the sources said. Boucher, who is in charge of South and Central Asian Affairs, met with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Hemayet Uddin for the talks. An official spokesman said Dhaka-Washington bilateral ties were also on the agenda. Boucher is expected to call on President Iajuddin Ahmad, who is also the chief executive of the interim government designated under the constitution to hold the polls. Boucher is also to meet top Bangladeshi political leaders Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina both aspirants for power in the polls expected in January.
