Academics, lawyers and politicians at a dialogue on Monday said that the security forces and the police must be kept out of politics to ensure national security and democracy in the country.
Noting that the security forces and the police were politicised in the past, they stressed the need for a neutral role of the security forces.
The dialogue titled ‘National Security and Law Enforcement: Challenges to Democratic Governance’ was organised by the Centre for Governance Studies at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.
The speakers also said that national security, law enforcement and democratic governance are interconnected, and added that the misuse of state power in the name of security is eroding citizens’ rights, public trust and the credibility of the upcoming national election.
Former inspector general of police M Enamul Haq said that the Rohingya crisis would become a greater challenge to domestic and international security.
He stressed the need for building a national-interest mindset among future generations.
He also called for strengthening the judiciary, Anti-Corruption Commission, revenue board and transport sector, saying that a strong accountability commission was better than multiple weak ones.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson’s advisory council member Zahir Uddin Swapan said that national security had become multidimensional and that failure in this area had endangered democracy.
Referring to Venezuela, Panama and Chile, he said that internal instability combined with external influence could destabilise states.
He warned that artificial intelligence would create new security threats and stressed the need for unity, knowledge and capacity building.
Former ambassador Munshi Fayez Ahmed said that law and order and democratic governance were fundamental state duties requiring public awareness and quality education.
An independent judiciary is essential for protecting rights, he said, and accused the government of yielding to mob pressure.
He also said that branding the police and the bureaucrats as criminals after the July movement had weakened state institutions.
He said that weak foreign policy had affected border security.
Retired major general Monirul Islam Akand said that laws were applied unequally, with the powerful escaping accountability.
Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal presidium member Moshtaq Hossain wanted to know whether security arrangements served ordinary citizens or only powerful individuals.
He also called for reducing excessive centralisation of power.
Moshtaq stressed the need for keeping the police away from the executive division of the government to play a neutral role in the country’s internal security.
Jahangirnagar University professor Ali Akbar said that failure to ensure non-traditional security undermined national security.
He identified corruption in issuing national identity cards to Rohingyas as a serious threat and urged for education reform and cooperation among political parties and civil society.
Gono Forum president Subrata Chowdhury said that killings, enforced disappearances and rights violations had continued under military, caretaker and elected governments alike.
Former state minister professor Abu Sayeed alleged that the upcoming election was being conducted in a selective and biased manner and could not be considered fair or inclusive.
Former state minister Golam Sarwar Milon urged for a clear code of conduct and an integrated view of security, including the blue economy, the Rohingya crisis and a fear-free voting environment.
CGS president Zillur Rahman, in his opening remarks, said that national security could not be ensured without democracy and described human rights violations as a ‘regular reality’ in Bangladesh.
He said that security had both hard and soft dimensions but no security reform commission had been formed since 2024, creating a serious institutional gap.
He said that border tensions with India and Myanmar, lack of political preparedness and growing public anxiety ahead of the polls had worsened insecurity.
Zillur warned that the coming polls had become a ‘hybrid security challenge’ involving disinformation and physical threats.
Retired major general Amsa Amin said that political leadership had repeatedly failed to learn from history and urged prioritising national interest.
Communist Party of Bangladesh president Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan said that self-serving decisions by the ruling elites had weakened the country’s sovereignty.
Lawyer M Sarwar Hossain said that nepotism, weak external security and capital flight had been undermining the state.
