Bangladesh minister suggests ‘shooting addicts at sight’ to stop drug abuse

Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman Fizar has suggested that the law enforcers ‘shoot addicts at sight’ and a national consensus endorsing the move to stop drug abuse.

Many applauded his remarks as a deterrent to stop drug abuse during his speech at a programme marking the 28th founding anniversary of the Department of Narcotics Control in Dhaka on Tuesday.

“Everything is possible in Bangladesh. Even eliminating drug abuse is possible with what is meant by capital punishment,” the minister said.  

“These are my thoughts, I have thought deeply – if I were given the charge of this department instead of the primary education ministry, I would suggest discussion on this (‘shoot at sight strategy’) for three months.

He said everyone would find it the number one problem after deliberations.

“We can also set a deadline of three months. Come good in these three months until March or the action will start on Apr 1. There are large grounds in every district. Everyone found there will be shot at sight, no matter whose children they are,” Mostafizur said.

Bangladesh’s law-enforcing agencies are criticised for many forms of human-rights violation, including extra-judicial killings in so-called gunfights. 

“My words may sound rude, but we need to reach a consensus to resolve this problem. I agree that some will say human rights will be violated because of this move,” the minister said.

The strategy of ‘shoot at sight’, in his view, would work all over the country even it was applied in only 10 of the 64 districts.

He also thinks it will not be possible to stop abuse of drugs even by increasing the number of rehabilitation centres by hundreds of thousands.

Tipu Munshi, the president of the parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry, Security Services Secretary Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, and DNC Director General Jamal Uddin Ahmed, among others, spoke at the programme.