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Published : 05 Jan 2026, 06:16 PM
Citing repeated “misuse” of intelligence agencies, the Inquiry Commission for Enforced Disappearance has recommended withdrawing armed forces officers from law-enforcing agencies and civilian intelligence organisations.
On Monday, commission chief Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said all intelligence agencies in the country require reform, alleging that they have interfered in domestic politics in pursuit of power.
“Our intelligence agencies intrude into internal politics because they want to be part of power,” he said.
He alleged that the agencies had been misused in multiple ways.
“DGFI went on behalf of S Alam to take over Islami Bank. Was that DGFI’s job? Or is it the job of any intelligence agency or DGFI to take over media houses? They have been misused in many ways,” he said.
According to Moyeenul, successive governments had relied on such misuse, with the “recently departed” administration doing so on a much larger scale. “We must move away from that tendency,” he said.
The commission, formed to investigate enforced disappearances during previous governments, submitted its final report to the chief advisor on Sunday.
He outlined a clear division of responsibilities at a press conference on Monday.
“The police are responsible for maintaining law and order within the country. The Army’s role is to train from cantonments, prepare for war, and master new combat strategies,” he said.
He stressed that law enforcement is not the responsibility of Army officers and said they should be “withdrawn from law-enforcing agencies and civilian intelligence bodies”, instead suggesting the formation of an elite force by selecting capable officers from within police.
In its report, the commission has also recommended the abolition of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Moyeenul said the commission received 1,913 complaints.
Of these, 231 were repeat submissions and 113 were dismissed after preliminary scrutiny for falling outside the definition of enforced disappearance. That left 1,569 complaints under active consideration. Among them, 251 people remain missing and the bodies of 36 people were recovered following their disappearance.
Asked about the identities of those still missing, he said: “Most of them are political figures. The commission has recommended all possible measures, including DNA testing, to identify them.”
He said law-enforcing agencies were engaged in these acts based on political decisions. “The investigation found a total of 40 detention centres. Of these, 22 to 23 belonged to RAB,” he said.
He further alleged that after the commission began its work, “RAB destroyed the most evidence.”
Non-food inflation also edged higher, rising to 9.13 percent in December from 9.08 percent a month earlier.
In rural areas, overall inflation climbed to 8.48 percent in December, compared with 8.26 percent in November. In urban areas, inflation rose from 8.39 percent to 8.55 percent over the same period.
In the budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, the government set a target of keeping inflation within 6.5 percent. To support that goal, the central bank has maintained a high policy interest rate. However, halfway through the fiscal year, the gap between expectations and reality has begun to widen again.
While rising inflation has increased pressure on the purchasing power of working people, wage indicators offer little relief.
With overall inflation at 8.49 percent, the wage growth rate in December stood at 8.07 percent, highlighting that incomes are not rising at the same pace as the cost of living.
