Dhaka, April 4 -- Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has stressed that the top priority of his interim government was to conduct the national elections at the earliest possible time.

Speaking at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok on Friday, he assured that "free, fair and participatory" elections would be held once the administration "fulfils its mandate" of implementing essential state reforms, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reports.

Reflecting on the July Uprising in Bangladesh, Yunus recalled the spirit of the Liberation War in 1971, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary women and men, children and youth made the ultimate sacrifice during a nine-month struggle against a brutal military regime.

"Our people aspired for ...