State Minister for Liberation War Affairs and Dhaka-6 MP Ishraque Hossain led an anti-drug operation in the capital’s Gendaria area while carrying a firearm, raising questions about what a firearms license legally allows its holder to do.
The state minister raided a slum beside the railway line in Ward 45 under Gendaria police station, detaining 6 people on suspicion of drug dealing.
He posted a video of the operation on his verified Facebook page with the caption “Ishraque's Action.”
In the footage, he steps out of a car with a pistol in one hand and a microphone in the other before chasing several people. Men accompanying him catch some of them, while others run away.
“Drug dealers will not be spared, whichever party they belong to,” he said during the operation. He added that anyone from his own party found to be involved in the trade would face a heavier punishment.
He also told locals that he had been gathering information through intelligence sources for 6 months and that the campaign, which began in his constituency, would continue across the country.
The minister assured the detainees that no one would harm them.
“You will go to the police station, and the police will take action,” he said.
“This country will be run by law.”
Gendaria police station Officer-in-Charge Moniruzzaman Monir said the minister detained 6 people and called the police station.
Police then went to the spot and took them into custody.
“A white powder-like substance was found on the detainees,” the officer-in-charge said. He added that laboratory tests would determine whether it was heroin.
What the policy says
Bangladesh's firearms laws are governed by the Arms Act, 1878, and the Arms Rules, 1924.
The Home Ministry's Firearms License Issuance, Renewal and Use Policy, 2025, issued on July 10, 2025, further regulates licensing and use. It replaced the 2016 policy and its amendment.
Section 25 of the policy sets out conditions governing the carrying and use of licensed firearms. Its clauses include the following:
- Clause (Ka): A person may carry or use a firearm licensed in their own name for self-defense. However, firearms may not be displayed in a manner that could cause fear or annoyance to others.
- Clause (Kha): Firearms may not be openly displayed, except by uniformed guards of a financial or other institution.
- Clauses (Ga) and (Gha): A license holder cannot be employed as an armed guard to protect another person's or group's safety or property. Licenses may be canceled immediately in such cases.
- Clauses (Umo) and (Cha): A weapon issued in an institution's name may be used only for that institution's security.
- Clauses (Chha) and (Ja): These cover the disposal of firearms when an institution closes and the deposit of firearms by expatriate holders while abroad.
- Clause (Jha): A breach of any of these conditions makes the license liable for cancellation.
Questions over the raid
Section 25 regulates how a licensed firearm may be carried and displayed but does not specifically mention raids, searches or arrests.
Drug raids and arrests are conducted by police and other law enforcement agencies under Bangladesh's narcotics and criminal procedure laws.
The video has prompted several questions, including whether the pistol is privately licensed in the minister's name or issued through another arrangement, which would determine the applicable rules. Questions have also arisen over whether carrying a drawn weapon while chasing people in a crowded settlement is consistent with clauses (Ka) and (Kha).
Other questions concern the legal authority of a minister or lawmaker to lead such an operation, whether those accompanying him were authorized to detain people, whether police were informed beforehand or called after the detentions, and who searched the detainees and seized the substance before police arrived.
Commenting on State Minister Ishraque's participation in the anti-drug operation and his public use of a firearm, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muhammad Nurul Huda told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday night that the state minister could have chosen not to go, but there was no harm in his going either.
He said licensed firearms were issued precisely to deter enemies and protect oneself. The state minister perhaps felt that carrying a weapon was necessary and used it; according to the former IGP, there had been no violation of the law.
The former IGP said deputy commissioners, officers-in-charge (OCs) and assistant commissioners (ACs) were responsible for the area and should have taken charge of the operation.