Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 11, 1995

In the reports, the progress of the Taliban and taking control of the mill from [Burhanuddin] Rabbani's government is noteworthy. Mr. Boroujerdi, [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs], went to Iran for this reason. First, we went to the martyrs' memorial site, 35 km northwest of Dhaka, for the ceremony of donating flowers, and we learned a lot on the way. Dhaka is flooded and will soon dry up. During the dry season, the land is cultivated twice. There is water for five months of the year and cultivation for seven months.

On the way, many people from the villages on both sides of the road were welcomed. After donating flowers, we also planted a tree. I spoke with a rickshaw driver - three wheels that carry two passengers; It is hard work, but it is interesting considering the environmental problem.

We went to the prime minister's palace. First we had a private negotiation. Regarding the problem of opposition campaigns, he said that they want the resignation of the government and the formation of an interim government for the upcoming elections, and he also talked about the problem of disputes with India over water and with Pakistan over unemployed immigrants. In the official meeting, many cooperation matters were discussed and the importance of cooperation between the two countries was emphasized.

In the evening, we went to the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and private sector traders at the hotel. The Minister of Commerce spoke and said welcome, and I spoke about the necessity of finding new and modern fields and methods for business development.

From there, we went to Dhaka University to start the construction of a unit for teaching Persian language at the expense of Iran. The Minister of Culture and the President of the University spoke about the importance of the Persian language in the history of Bangladesh and the need to pay attention to it because of the precious heritage of the Persian language there. I also gave a speech in the same field. They have land at their disposal. In order to build three thousand square meters, on the foundation stone that I unveiled, they had brought a Persian poem that praised the Persian language and a stanza of it in Abjad, the date of the start of the construction.

We went to our embassy. Several hundred people, religious scholars from all over Bangladesh gathered. We prayed the congregational prayer led by one of them. One of them recited an expressive poem describing the revolution and me. One of the scholars gave a speech about the importance of Iran and the revolution. In a detailed speech, I called for unity and answered the slanders of divisive Shiites, such as the belief in distorting the Qur'an or insulting the Companions and the solidarity of the Imams with the Prophet. Then we had some negotiations and consolation with the families of the Iranians of the embassy and the students.

We went to the Prime Minister for dinner. First, private negotiations were held with Mrs. Khaleda Zia. Then we went to dinner. At the table, he mostly talked modestly, and I talked to the head of the judiciary, who expressed a lot of interest in Iran and had many questions.