Bangladesh would seek clarification from the US over Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comment on garment worker Kalpona Akter, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at the foreign ministry after his meeting with the Commonwealth pre-election assessment team, Alam said, "The statement is not at all Bangladesh specific as some media have made it out to be. It wasn't anything specific to the garment industry or the textile industry at all. It was an effort to make labour rights stronger within the United States."

Previously on 16 November, while announcing a new Presidential Memorandum on labour rights, US State Secretary Antony Blinken had said, "We want to be there for people like Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi garment worker and activist, who says that she is alive today because the US embassy advocated on her behalf."

Regarding the issue, Shahriar Alam said, "We will definitely ask the US about this in the next meeting. If my memory serves me right - Kalpona Akter was arrested only once in Bangladesh in 2010. She was not the only one; several other labour leaders were also arrested. Later, the case against them was withdrawn.

"What Kalpona Akter was quoted saying was she felt threatened for us or someone else. Kalpona never told anyone in Bangladesh that she felt threatened. Of course, we want to know what the truth is," he added.

Stating that Bangladesh and the United States have already come a long way bilaterally, the state minister for Foreign Affairs said, "It's been a year since the United States appointed a Labor Attaché in its embassy in Bangladesh and we approved it."