October 26, 2001	Friday	Shaba'an 8, 1422

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: India’s National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra will leave for Dhaka on Friday for talks with the newly elected government of Khaleda Zia, amid growing concern here for the safety of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority.

“Mr Mishra is going as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s special envoy,” a senior government official said Thursday.

Mishra, who is also Vajpayee’s principal secretary, will discuss bilateral relations with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and senior government ministers, the official added.

In Dhaka, officials said Mishra would hold talks “on matters of mutual interests” with foreign minister Badruddoza Chowdhury on Saturday.

Before flying home the same evening he will pay a courtesy call on Zia to convey a personal message of goodwill from Vajpayee, they said.

It will be the highest level contact between the two sides following the change of government in Dhaka earlier this month, and follows a spate of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.

“Despite the assurances given by the (Bangladeshi) prime minister herself to protect the Hindu community, there have been a number of incidents of assault, molestation and worse,” an editorial in the Hindustan Times said Thursday.—AFP