Process going on over IGP’s US trip: Home minister
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said a process is going on over the upcoming trip of the inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed to the United States (US) to attend the police chiefs' conference to be held in New York.
There is a relation between the US and the United Nations, and also there is an agreement, the minister said adding the process is going on accordingly.
Asaduzzaman Khan made these remarks while replying to queries from newspersons after US envoy in Dhaka Peter D Haas paid a courtesy call to the minister at the secretariat on Tuesday.
On 10 December last year, the US state department and treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on six former and current officials of Bangladesh’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) including Benazir Ahmed for human rights abuse.
Amid this situation, discussion arose over whether Benazir Ahmed can visit the US to the police chiefs’ conference.
On 8 August, following a meeting with us assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs Michele J Sison, foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said the IGP Benazir Ahmed will be able to attend the conference of the police chiefs to be held in New York if 'there are no issues'.
Asaduzzaman Khan said Peter Haas during the meeting wanted to know about whether the law and order situation will remain same during the next election like the existing situation.
The minister said the US envoy was told that election commission mainly controls law enforcement agencies and administration during elections and prime minister will carry out routine work and they will be busy with election.
Asaduzzaman Khan said law enforcement agencies open fire only in self-defence and each firing incident is investigated by magistrate to find out the truth. The US envoy asked the minister why these probe reports are not published. In reply, the home minister said some of those reports were not published, and the remaining ones were made public.
After the courtesy call to the home minister, US ambassador told newspersons that the US wants to strengthen bilateral ties with Bangladesh and what further measures can be taken to enhance this relations was also discussed. Bangladesh has also worked well in prevention of human trafficking, he observed.