Bangladesh
Hasina| Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth used to enquire about me: PM Hasina tells BBC
Dhaka, September 19: "We were very young then and went to my father's (Bangabandhu's) office. Because we knew that she (Queen Elizabeth II) was going down that road. So we all, the whole family, waited at the window with binoculars. As a result, we were able to see her more clearly."
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said these things in an interview given to BBC by reminiscing about the late Queen Elizabeth II. The interview was conducted in the UK by BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg.
Pointing out that she has fond memories with Queen Elizabeth II, the Prime Minister said, "The Queen had a wonderful memory. If she didn't see me, she would say, 'Where were you Hasina?"
The prime minister saw the queen for the first time in 1961. Queen Elizabeth II had visited the then East Pakistan. It was then that Bangabandhu's daughter got the chance to see the queen for the first time in person. Since then, she has met the Queen at every Commonwealth Summit.
In this regard, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "I have attended about seven Commonwealth summits. Every time I got a chance to talk to the Queen."
Hasina said, "She was the queen of the United Kingdom, and there is no doubt about it. But she was also a leader of the Commonwealth. She was very valuable to us as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations."
The Prime Minister said, "I think she was not only a queen, but also a very loving and motherly figure. Whenever I met her, I felt it."
