Govt moving to gradually withdraw army from field operations: Home Minister

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government is moving to gradually withdraw the army from field-level law enforcement duties, citing an improvement in the country’s overall law and order situation.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting on stone extraction in Sylhet and Sunamganj at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Thursday (May 7), the minister said the government no longer intends to keep the military deployed indefinitely for maintaining public order.

“The elected political government has taken charge, and confidence has returned in restoring the police force to a disciplined and effective position,” he said.

Referring to recent media reports on the issue, Salahuddin Ahmed said a policy-level decision has already been taken to phase out army deployment from the streets in a gradual manner.

“We believe the police force has regained operational capability and public confidence. Therefore, initiatives are being taken to withdraw the army from the field step by step,” he said.

He added that the process and strategy for the withdrawal would be determined through coordination among the police, army and other relevant agencies.

Responding to questions on the ongoing anti-crime drives, the home adviser said operations against extortionists, terrorists, drug traffickers, gamblers and illegal arms holders are continuing across the country.

“Time has not run out yet. Wait and you will see the operations are ongoing every day. Notorious criminals are being arrested regularly,” he said.

He also said both joint and independent operations by law enforcement agencies are underway, while legal action is being taken against those detained.

Asked why alleged “major godfathers” were not being brought under the crackdown, the adviser said no one is above the law.

“We are preparing proper lists and conducting operations accordingly,” he said, claiming that the government’s ongoing drives have brought visible improvements to the country’s law and order situation, although “differences of opinion may remain” on the matter.