Dhaka, August 03: Months after a bloody mutiny in its paramilitary force was blamed on intelligence failure, Bangladesh has formed a high-powered national committee with Premier Sheikh Hasina as its chairperson to coordinate activities of spy agencies.
“This (committee) will fix and coordinate the areas of work of different intelligence agencies and coordinate their activities,” a senior official familiar with the formation process of the high-powered body said.
He said Prime Minister’s Defence Affairs Adviser retired major general Tariq Ahmed was assigned to coordinate the activities of the committee that comprised chiefs of the National Security Intelligence (NSI), Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), elite VVIP protection agency Special Security Force (SSF) and Police.
The cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister were other members of the six-member committee, which would be aided by heads of the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Special Branch of police.
The committee was formed on Friday as major intelligence agencies had come under severe scrutiny for failing to predict the February 25-26 mutiny at the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters when 75 people including 57 Army officers serving the border force were killed.
Inspector general of police Nur Mohammad had said last month that police and other security agencies were now working with closer coordination in line with a recent government directive for exchange of information among the law enforcement and intelligence agencies particularly to intensify the anti-militant campaign.
“Police, RAB, DGFI and NSI are now frequently sitting together to exchange views and information among them while Prime Minister’s defence adviser (retired) major general Tarek Siddqui oversees the coordination,” the police chief said.
Hasina on July 8 told the Parliament that the PMO had initiated a move to form a committee for coordinating the activities of the intelligence agencies and promising effective steps for their strengthening with extra manpower.
An Army-led enquiry committee earlier reportedly blamed the BDR authorities as well as intelligence agencies for failure to sense the rebellion before hand while a government investigation report published later suggested effective steps for coordination and scrutinise of their activities.
Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most of his family members in a military putsch on August 15, 1975 while president Ziaur Rahman, an Army general, was killed in another abortive coup in 1981. Militants have in recent years carried out a series of attacks killing scores.
“Every time the failure of the intelligence agencies came up but no effective step was taken ever to strengthen them… the committee headed by the Prime Minister herself will now address the issue,” an official said.
–Agencies