JS body holds closed-door meeting on defence policy
Staff Correspondent
'The culture of secrecy' in running the country's armed forces should come to an end, as the citizens have the right to know how the forces are being run, suggested a number of members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Ministry yesterday.
They made the suggestion during a closed door meeting of the committee that opened a scrutinising discussion on a draft of the country's first defence policy prepared by the Armed Forces Division.
After the meeting, some of the committee members talked to The Daily Star about some of their discussions.
"We will seek opinions of ministries concerned and the army, navy and air force once we have a framework in place for the defence policy," M Idris Ali, chief of the committee, told The Daily Star after the meeting.
He said more discussions on the draft will follow in the committee.
"The ultimate product of our meeting will not be kept secret. We will disclose everything for the public, except some sensitive matters if there is any," the committee chief added.
Talking to The Daily Star after the meeting, a number of committee members said in the meeting some of them also suggested modernisation of the armed forces in line with the changing time.
They also said the draft of the defence policy is voluminous, which it should not be, adding that it deals with many unnecessary things in it as well.
A member of the committee said the meeting also discussed the issue of the army's role being questioned after August 15, 1975 for a series of coups and counter coups, and for grabbing of the state power twice by the force.
He said however their role in preparing the latest voter list with photographs, and in assisting victims in post natural disaster situations are lauded by the people.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Air Vice-marshal (retd) AK Khandker, yesterday told the House that a total of 75 officials of the armed forces had been sent to forced retirement or dismissed from the services during the BNP-led alliance government.
Khandker, who is also in charge of defence ministry affairs in the parliament, in a scripted answer to a query of ruling Awami League lawmaker Nasrul Hamid said 36 of those defence officials were of the army, 26 of the navy, and 13 of the air force.
In reply to a query of BNP lawmaker ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan, the planning minister said a total of 1,069 officers of the armed forces are working in UN peacekeeping missions, 907 of whom are from the army, 67 from the navy, and 96 from the air force.
He said foreign currencies equivalent of over Tk 5,194 crore have been deposited in Bangladesh Bank as their incomes from the missions till now.
JS body holds closed-door meeting on defence policy
Staff Correspondent
'The culture of secrecy' in running the country's armed forces should come to an end, as the citizens have the right to know how the forces are being run, suggested a number of members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Ministry yesterday.
They made the suggestion during a closed door meeting of the committee that opened a scrutinising discussion on a draft of the country's first defence policy prepared by the Armed Forces Division.
After the meeting, some of the committee members talked to The Daily Star about some of their discussions.
"We will seek opinions of ministries concerned and the army, navy and air force once we have a framework in place for the defence policy," M Idris Ali, chief of the committee, told The Daily Star after the meeting.
He said more discussions on the draft will follow in the committee.
"The ultimate product of our meeting will not be kept secret. We will disclose everything for the public, except some sensitive matters if there is any," the committee chief added.
Talking to The Daily Star after the meeting, a number of committee members said in the meeting some of them also suggested modernisation of the armed forces in line with the changing time.
They also said the draft of the defence policy is voluminous, which it should not be, adding that it deals with many unnecessary things in it as well.
A member of the committee said the meeting also discussed the issue of the army's role being questioned after August 15, 1975 for a series of coups and counter coups, and for grabbing of the state power twice by the force.
He said however their role in preparing the latest voter list with photographs, and in assisting victims in post natural disaster situations are lauded by the people.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Air Vice-marshal (retd) AK Khandker, yesterday told the House that a total of 75 officials of the armed forces had been sent to forced retirement or dismissed from the services during the BNP-led alliance government.
Khandker, who is also in charge of defence ministry affairs in the parliament, in a scripted answer to a query of ruling Awami League lawmaker Nasrul Hamid said 36 of those defence officials were of the army, 26 of the navy, and 13 of the air force.
In reply to a query of BNP lawmaker ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan, the planning minister said a total of 1,069 officers of the armed forces are working in UN peacekeeping missions, 907 of whom are from the army, 67 from the navy, and 96 from the air force.
He said foreign currencies equivalent of over Tk 5,194 crore have been deposited in Bangladesh Bank as their incomes from the missions till now.
JS body holds closed-door meeting on defence policy
