Stressing the government鈥檚 ongoing efforts to recover illegal arms and improve the law-and-order situation, home affairs adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday said that the nationwide special drive would continue until the national election.
鈥楢lthough we haven鈥檛 been able to recover all the arms that have gone missing, efforts are going on. This special drive is being carried out across the country and will continue until the election,鈥� he told reporters after a meeting of the Law and Order Core Committee at the Secretariat.
He said that mob violence would come down to zero and no leniency will be shown in such cases.
鈥楾he election will be held under the current law enforcement agencies and it will be conducted smoothly,鈥� the adviser said.
The adviser emphasised that discussions at the meeting covered all aspects of national security, including recent incidents and potential future challenges.
鈥榃e focus particularly on drug-related crimes, which have become a major issue. While many Yaba smugglers are being held, the big players are still at large. We are working to bring them under the law,鈥� Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said.
Asked whether there was any security concern surrounding August 5, he replied, 鈥榊ou are better judges of how things were on August 5 after the Awami League had left office. Compare that with today. Whether there鈥檚 been any improvement is for you to assess.鈥�
Admitting that the law-and-order situation in Bangladesh has never matched international standards, he said that it could not reach that level but prayed for the future government to do so.
On public concerns over unrest, especially on August 5, Jahangir Alam dismissed any fear, saying, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no reason to panic. All programmes will be held peacefully, InshaAlah. We just need your cooperation in covering these events responsibly.鈥�
On election-related violence, he reaffirmed that the government was training forces and increasing deployment to maintain peace.
In response to concerns about unequal police protection, the adviser said all parties receive security based on vulnerability assessments provided by agencies and media inputs.