Opposition members of the parliamentary standing committees on the home and law ministries today boycotted discussions on the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill, 2026, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Bill, 2026.
At a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs this afternoon, Jamaat-e-Islami MPs Nurul Islam and Abdul Baten walked out before discussions on the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill began.
A press release issued by the Jatiya Sangsad after the meeting also mentioned the walkout.
Committee Chairman Zainul Abedin said members should present any proposed amendments or opinions at the meeting, offer advice and, if necessary, express their opposition.
“That is the responsibility of committee members. But walking out of the meeting does not fall within parliamentary norms,” he said.
The committee held detailed discussions on submitting its report on the bill and decided to forward it to parliament.
According to the press release, no extrajudicial killings had taken place in the country over the past six months. During the same period, although there had been attempts to form mobs, no incidents of political persecution were reported, it said. It also said law enforcement agencies had not used excessive force while maintaining law and order.
The meeting also discussed attempts to blame the government for the abduction of Miraz Sheikh, with members saying such blame-game politics should be avoided.
Earlier in the morning, opposition members of the parliamentary standing committee on the law ministry announced a boycott of discussions on the NHRC Bill, 2026.
Najibur Rahman, spokesperson for the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami parliamentary party, said they would not participate in any further discussion, review or stage of the bill's passage and would no longer attend committee meetings.
Speaking to The Daily Star today, he said opposition members had attended the committee meeting in the morning but boycotted the discussion on the NHRC Bill.
“We will no longer take part in any kind of further discussion on the bill,” he said.
In a joint statement, three opposition members of the standing committee alleged that the government had unilaterally repealed the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2025, ignoring the views of affected citizens, stakeholders, and domestic and international human rights organisations.
They said the government had promised a stronger and more effective law when repealing the ordinance but had instead placed a weaker and more limited bill before Parliament.
They further argued that the proposed law does not comply with international standards recognised by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the Paris Principles, and relevant international conventions and declarations.
The opposition members also said the Standing Committee on Law had been instructed to submit its report within only two working days, effectively restricting proper consultation with stakeholders and independent review of the bill.
They claimed this had reduced the committee to a mere “rubber stamp”.
Both bills were placed before parliament on Thursday and sent to the concerned standing committees for scrutiny.
