DHAKA, 22 September 2021, (TON): Foreign minister said that Bangladesh expects the new Kabul regime to be 'inclusive and progressive.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said “Dhaka is gauging the situation in Afghanistan ahead of taking any stance regarding ties with the new Taliban regime there but decided to offer humanitarian assistance to Afghan people under the "UN umbrella".

"We are watching the developments there," he told a media briefing in New York, as asked what was Bangladesh stance on the Afghan issue while it was likely to dominate largely the weeklong UN General Assembly debate starting on Tuesday.

Momen said “Dhaka preferred to wait to observe the nature of the new government and see what policies they would take and "on the basis of that we will make the decision what we will do".

But, he said “Dhaka by now decided to offer humanitarian assistance to Afghan people sending materials like medicines responding to a call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.”

Momen said that other than only three, no Bangladeshis were stranded in Afghanistan, "which is an issue of great relief for us.”

He added that the three voluntarily preferred to stay there for personal reasons while at least one of them married an Afghan.

The minister said "Bangladeshis in Afghanistan left that country as Dhaka issued an advisory that the situation there appeared unsafe.”