Decision on RAB disbandment after consultations: Jahangir

Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury stated that decisions regarding the disbandment of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and other recommendations by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)—including limiting the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) to military intelligence and preventing the army from controlling the Ansars—will be made after discussions with all concerned parties.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, February 13, after inaugurating the Online App for Visa on Arrival (VoA) or Transit Visa application for foreign nationals at the Home Ministry conference room at Secretariat, the adviser responded to questions about the UN's proposals.

The UN has recommended disbanding RAB, limiting the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to border protection duties, restricting DGFI to military intelligence operations, and preventing the army from controlling the Ansars. In response to a query about the government's stance on these recommendations, the home adviser said, "They have made a proposal, and we will all sit together. After that meeting, we will announce our decision. We welcome their investigation; they have done a good job, and we will make a decision after sitting together."

The UN fact-finding team recently released a report on human rights violations during Bangladesh's student and public protests from July 1 to August 15 of last year. The report was presented during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday, led by UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk.