Washington would like to see withdrawal of more restrictions on political parties and return of power to a 'civilian, elected government' in Bangladesh, said a visiting US state department official on Sunday.
The US principal deputy assistant secretary, Donald Camp, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a two-day routine visit, spelt out the position of his government and said the Bush administration was supportive of the caretaker government and its action plan for holding elections by 2008.
'Some restrictions on political parties have already been lifted. I am sure there will be more, which will be welcome,' Camp told newsmen at a briefing after his talks with the foreign secretary, Touhid Hossain, at state guesthouse Padma.
The senior US state department official, however, avoided making any comments on the withdrawal of the state of emergency, in place for more than a year, to create a level playing field for political parties.
