Intelligence Agencies “Interfere” in Internal Politics: Disappearance Commission Chief

The head of the Enforced Disappearances Commission, Mainul Islam Chowdhury, commented that the misuse of the country’s intelligence agencies stems from their tendency to “interfere” in internal politics and seek a share of power. He said that to overcome this situation, structural reforms of all intelligence agencies in the country are urgently needed.

After submitting the final report to the Chief Adviser on Sunday, the commission head made these remarks at a press conference on Monday. He stated that along with previous governments, the recently departed government also extensively misused intelligence agencies, but the extent of this misuse was even greater during the most recent government’s tenure.

Mainul Islam Chowdhury said, “DGFI went and took over Islami Bank on behalf of the S Alam Group— is that the job of DGFI? Or is taking over a media house the responsibility of an intelligence agency?” He said that intelligence agencies have been used in various ways as tools to implement political decisions.

Regarding the maintenance of law and order, the commission head clearly stated that maintaining law and order within the country is the responsibility of the police, not the army. According to him, the army’s duties are training, war preparedness, and enhancing strategic capabilities. Therefore, army officers should be withdrawn from law enforcement agencies and civilian intelligence organizations. As an alternative, he proposed forming a specialized elite force by selecting skilled officers from within the police.

Presenting data related to enforced disappearances, the commission head said that out of 1,913 complaints submitted to the commission, 1,569 complaints were kept under active consideration after verification. Among them, 251 people are still missing, and in 36 cases, bodies were recovered after enforced disappearance. He said that most of the missing persons are political figures.

The commission’s report recommended the dissolution of RAB. At the same time, the commission head commented that RAB destroyed the most evidence in cases involving allegations of enforced disappearances.