Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina invited opposition leader Khaleda Zia to dinner as they held rare talks Saturday in a bid to defuse a mounting crisis over forthcoming parliamentary elections. But Zia, who has demanded that Hasina quit and make way for a caretaker government to supervise the polls due in January 2014, spurned the premier's appeal to call off a three-day general strike to start Sunday (today).
The 40-minute phone conversation - part of which was aired by television stations - was believed to be the first time in at least a decade that Hasina and Zia, who has served twice as premier, have spoken, observers say. Hasina's invitation came a day after tensions spiked as supporters of Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies clashed with the ruling party and police across the nation, leaving at least seven people dead and hundreds injured. "I am inviting you to the prime minister's residence on October 28," Hasina said to Zia by telephone, appealing for her rival to withdraw her strike call. That portion of the conversation was shown on television.