Hasina flays Bangla Govt for `deliberate delay` of Polls
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

LONDON: Bangladesh ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the military-backed caretaker government of "betrayal" and "deliberate delay" of parliamentary polls, a new report has said.

"I am literally seeing the betrayal unfold in front of my very eyes," Hasina said, expressing her concerns at attempts by the interim government to "deliberately delay" the parliamentary polls.

The Awami League president, who is expected to arrive in Dhaka on Monday after the government lifted the ban on her return, said, "The biggest betrayal was that they would not let me return to the country."

"But what we see now is that not only have they not done anything substantive to hold the elections in the near future, but they are also actively trying to delay the elections for as long as possible," Hasina told the media at her London residence.

The 18-month timeframe that the government is working on to prepare the grounds for the next elections is unjustified, Hasina said, adding, "from where have they arbitrarily come up with that figure?"●