Bangladesh banks investigate Taleban funding

The financial authorities in Bangladesh have asked banks to check whether any of their account holders have links with the militant Islamic Taleban movement in Afghanistan.

The request by the Bangladeshi central bank follows a call by the United Nations Security Council for the freezing of financial assets held by groups supported by the Taleban.

The funding question became a prominent issue during President Clinton¿s visit to Bangladesh in March: several of Mr Clinton's scheduled programmes were cancelled amid fears of attacks by Muslim fundamentalist groups believed to be backed by the Taleban. The BBC Dhaka correspondent says Islamic militants are influential in some parts of Bangladesh, but have gained relatively little political support in a country that prides itself on being a secular democracy.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service