The person who visited the BNP office was not from the US government
After the BNP rally was disrupted by violence on October 28 in Dhaka, several media outlets (1, 2, 3) reported that Mian Arefy, an adviser to US President Joe Biden, had visited the BNP central office. However, the United States Embassy in Bangladesh informed the media that Mian Arefy is not a representative of the United States government.
Today, a BNP rally in Nayapaltan was suspended due to a clash between the police and BNP supporters. Later, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called for a strike tomorrow. After this, several Bangladeshi media outlets (1, 2, 3) claimed that a person named Mian Arefy, Joe Biden’s adviser, had visited the BNP headquarters in Nayapaltan. Additionally, videos of his speeches in English were broadcast on several Facebook pages.
However, when conducting a search with Mian Arefy’s name, Dismislab did not find any information about any such adviser to US President Joe Biden. There is no mention of Mian Arefy in the published list of Joe Biden’s ministers and advisers, as seen in sources like The New York Times and the White House’s official website. Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Bangladesh told Daily Kalbela, “That gentleman does not speak for the US government. He is not associated with the government.”
After various searches online, the identity of a person named Mian Arefy was found on Facebook. Earlier on October 13, he was introduced as a US Democratic National Committee member and a member of Joe Biden’s advisory council in a talk show (in 19 seconds) organized by a Facebook page called America Bangla Channel (ABC).
Besides, at least three (1, 2, 3) personal IDs are available on Facebook in the name of Mian Arafi, in one of which he has identified himself as a member of the National Democratic Committee. The National Democratic Committee primarily works on behalf of the United States Democratic Party’s national and local election campaigns. At least two of the three IDs in Arefy’s name say he studied in Pabna, Bangladesh, and did higher education at Cornell University in the United States. But there is no mention of any information about his role as an adviser to Biden.
