Dhaka, Sept 23: Bangladesh's main opposition Awami League will boycott an upcoming meeting in Dhaka of Commonwealth lawmakers, party officials said today. The Awami League, headed by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's arch-rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, will stay away from the eight-day meeting that begins on October 4.

The Commonwealth parliamentary association will bring together lawmakers from the 54-member group of mainly former British colonies, who are meeting in Bangladesh for the first time. The Awami League also plans a nationwide general strike on Saturday. The strike was originally planned on Thursday, a Muslim holiday in Bangladesh, but party leaders said it would be pushed back two days to coincide with a normal working day.

The strike is meant to protest crime, rising prices in consumer goods and corruption. Bureau Report