TDS Desk:

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said during the quota movement, the UN-marked vehicles used by the law enforcers last week, belonged to Bangladesh and were rented out to the UN missions.

“However, the UN logos were not erased mistakenly at that time. Those have been erased later,” he said.

The foreign minister briefed the media on Wednesday at the state guest house Padma after accompanied a tour for foreign diplomats to the vandalized spots including metro rail, bridge bhaban and Bangladesh Television in the capital.

Diplomats of 49 foreign missions including 23 Ambassadors or High Commissioners joined the tour and expressed their shock to see the devastated sites of state owned establishments.

Hasan Mahmud said foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka described the vandalism committed by miscreants backed by BNP-Jamaat clique as “shameful” and said they are beside Bangladesh.

“They (diplomats) said this is shameful (vandalism) … all of them told me that they are with us … (and) they classified the issue as internal matter of Bangladesh,” he told reporters.

“They (Diplomats) became horrified by the vandalism and destruction by seeing their own eyes,” Hasan said.

The foreign minister said the BNP-Jamaat organized demonstrations in front of Bangladesh missions in different countries with the help of expatriate Pakistani communities there.

He said that the foreign ministry has the evidence that Pakistani nationals joined a demonstration in front of the Bangladesh mission in Los Angles. “Numbers of Pakistani were involved to organize that demonstration,” he added.

The foreign minister also said the BNP-Jamaat quarters have been engaged in spreading rumors regarding the Bangladesh situation with false and fabricated information in different countries.

Dr Hasan also turned down the news that the UAE has decided not to recruit Bangladeshi manpower. “This (news) is absolutely bogus … the UAE ambassador to Bangladesh has informed us that they did not take such kind of decision,” he said.