Home Affairs Adviser to the interim government, Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has clarified that while field-level police may carry rifles, they will not be given heavy, lethal weapons.
He made the statement to reporters on Saturday (June 14) around 11:00 am after inspecting the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) headquarters in Dhaka. Before heading to visit the RAB-1 office, he addressed several issues regarding law enforcement readiness and development.
"Only specialised units like APBn will be provided with heavy arms," he said.
Highlighting recent progress, the adviser noted that significant improvements in law and order have taken place under the interim government over the past 11 months. "Except for a few isolated incidents, this year's Eid was celebrated peacefully across the country," he added.
Jahangir Alam pointed out that the APBn is currently facing a major challenge with transport shortages. "We are in the process of bringing in 200 vehicles for them," he said. While APBn's living conditions are better compared to others, he admitted that police station housing remains poor and efforts are ongoing to improve it.
On election preparations, the adviser assured that law enforcement is fully ready. "A level playing field has been established. Minor incidents may still occur—like the recent attack on Nurul Haque Nur in Patuakhali, which is being addressed," he said.
He also touched upon Dhaka's persistent traffic congestion, stating, "Ideally, a country should have 20 percent of its area covered by roads, but in our case, it's not even 7 percent. The number of vehicles is increasing, which makes traffic unavoidable. We are working on solutions."
