The government has suddenly got a move on with the proposed Bureau of Counter Terrorism, which was supposed to be formed five years ago.
A high-ranked government official said the formation of the bureau from within the police force which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had ordered for half a decade ago, remained tangled in red tapes over the years.
However, in the wake of the February whisking off of three JMB men from a prison van in Mymensingh and what is said to be “opposition sabotage” in the coming months, the government has revived the effort to form the bureau.
The Finance Ministry official said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the Budget Wing of Finance Division to allocate fund in coming budget for setting up the bureau.
The matter came up in a recent inter-ministerial meeting at the PMO in which PM’s Adviser HT Imam slammed officials for not being able to realise the premier’s pledge in so many years.
According to the official, three ministries would have to take the necessary steps within a short time. They are the ministers for home, finance, and public administration.
The proposed bureau would have information technology, modern banking and cybercrime experts, who would work to know in advance about any possible threat to the PM’s life and other high profile political figures, source said.
The proposed activities of the unit include counter intelligence, stopping terror financing, anti-militancy campaign, terrorist tracking and maintaining a central database; simultaneously ensuring minimum violation of human and other basic rights enshrined in the constitution.
There will be 30-member district attaché offices headed by an additional superintendent of police in all the districts.
No fresh recruitments will be made for the bureau; instead, staffs from different government agencies will work for it by rotation.
The inspector general of police will be the chief of the proposed police unit.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the summary proposal for setting up the Bureau of Counter Terrorism on December 25 last year.
The announcement about forming the bureau first came in 2009, soon after the Awami League government assumed power.
