Bangladesh to Set Up Watchtowers, CCTVs to Monitor Rohingyas, Says Minister AKM Mozammel Haque

Dhaka, September 9: Bangladesh's Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque has said that fences, watchtowers and CCTVs will be installed to beef up surveillance in and around the Rohingyas camps to check criminal activities. The Minister on Tuesday said a committee will be formed to coordinate all reports prepared by intelligence agencies on various issues. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has been give the authority for constituting the committee.

"We will set up 24 watchtowers, construct fences and install CCTVs to monitor activities in Rohingya camps round-the-clock," Haque informed the media after a Cabinet Committee meeting at the Home Ministry conference room. The Minister said the meeting has decided to construct a fence along with setting up CCTVs and watchtowers aimed at controlling drugs smuggling, as a section of Rohingyas engaged in such activities. Bangladesh: Mosque Air Conditioner Burst in Narayanganj District, 12 Dead, Dozens Suffer Burn Injuries.

A statement from the office of Myanmar's President Htin Kyaw has blamed the little-known 'Aqa Mul Mujahidin'(AMM) for the terrorist attack in Myanmar's north-west province of Rakhain on October 9, 2017. In the statement he also said that AMM has good relations with Pakistan and some countries of the Middle East. Kyaw said a few militant outfits from Pakistan are providing financial support and military training inside Myanmar territory.

Rohingya militants, who are trained in Pakistan, have become operational in Bangladesh's hill tract area of Cox's Bazar's Teknaf and remote areas of Bandarban from the early 90s. Pakistan based militant outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamatul Mujahideen and Pakistani Taliban have reportedly given full assistance to the Rohingya militants. The revelation was cited in leading Myanmar media.

The HUJI-A chief is Abdus Qadoos Burmi, a Pakistani national of Rohingya origin, said reports published in the Myanmar media. Qadoos Burmi is reported to be close to the Lashkar-e-Taiban (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), headed by Hafiz Sayeed and who it is claimed recruited Hafiz Tohar, 45, from Kyauk Pyin Seik village in Maungdaw in Myanmar and arranged for his training in Pakistan. Some of the Rohingya militants got training in Pakistan in 2012.

According to the report, their aim was to carry out sabotage including covert killings in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. Most of the Rohingya militants were reportedly recruited from the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh. Earlier, Rohingya militants carried out attacks on three police checkposts on October 9, 2017 in Maungdaw town alongside the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and killed 9 policemen. Military Headquarter reported that 26 militants were killed in the counter attack by the Myanmar Army.

Myanmar media said that AMM chief Hafiz Tohar was indeed trained in Pakistan. The report said that AMM is a new armed group but it originated from the Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami-Arakan (HUJI-A) which was based on close relations with the Pakistan Taliban. Militancy, drug deals and arms trade through the Bangladesh-Myanmar border have been noticed by the Bangladesh government for the last couple of decades.

Following the allegations of the criminal activities by the Rohingyas, Haque said, "The meeting also agreed to continue anti-drug operations and identify patrons of drug smuggling to bring them to book. Measures are underway to update the existing Narcotics Control Act-2018 to ensure visible punishment for smugglers." "We have also decided to bring the upazila complex under security and CCTVs surveillance," he said. The Minister said the law and order situation in the country is under control.

The meeting decided to bring more than 500 foreign nationals, staying in Bangladesh without legal documents, to a camp and deport them to their countries of origin, he added. "We have asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to enquire about payment mode against foreign advertisements," he said. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will check Internet based Television and channels whether they have licenses or permission from the authorities concerned in Bangladesh, Haque added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2020 07:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).