A FOREIGN Office Peer visited Bradford to give its Bangladeshi community more details on the ongoing unrest in their native country.

Lord William Wallace of Saltaire, Government Minister and spokesman for Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords, yesterday briefed David Ward, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bradford East, about the continuing political stand-off in Bangladesh.

There were renewed protests, intimidation and violence in Bangladesh in January this year after a General Election took place in the country in January 2014, which was boycotted by the two main opposition parties Bangladeshi National Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (Jel).

Since January, the dispute between the opposition and the ruling Awami League (AL) has escalated and the political and security situation has deteriorated.

The leader of the BNP, Khaleda Zia, has been confined to her party office in the capital, Dhaka by security forces.

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A nationwide blockade of roads, railways and waterways has been staged and almost 50 people have been killed and more than 10,000 opposition activists arrested.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has now advised against all but essential travel to the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

This does not include the city of Chittagong or other parts of Chittagong Division.

Nationwide strikes were called in Bangladesh yesterday and today by the Jamaat-e-Islami party following the upholding of a death penalty verdict on a senior Jamaat leader.

Now Mr Ward says he will keep Bradford residents up to date on the current unrest in Bangladesh after being given details of the latest House of Commons briefing yesterday.

Lord Wallace said: "It's a bad situation in Bangladesh and could easily get a lot worse.

"Britain is the second biggest aid donor to Bangladesh, so we have a real sense of responsibility.

"We would support a real effective Government there.

"We do have some influence. We are working with the Indian and Chinese to get pressure to bear on the Bangladeshi Government. We are going to keep pushing.

"The Bangladeshi community in Britain and Bradford are right to be very concerned about what is happening in the country."

Mr Ward said: "There is concern about the political situation in Bangladesh.

"A total of three per cent of the population in Bradford East is of Bangladeshi origin. We tend to speak to them directly about it.

"I have a responsibility to feed back to them on what the British Government is doing. It is important to keep them up to date with Ministerial briefings we have received.

"These are very serious matters which need to be dealt with by Governments."