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Published : 06 Jan 2026, 07:02 PM
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah has urged authorities to seal Rohingya camps and the border ahead of the parliamentary elections, warning that activities centred on the camps could pose serious security risks.
Speaking at a meeting with law-enforcing officers at the Chattogram Circuit House, Sanaullah said weapons smuggled across the border and concealed inside Rohingya camps were difficult to detect.
“If a group seeks to carry out sabotage using weapons, using the camps makes it very difficult to apprehend them,” he said.
The retired brigadier general said if a Rohingya individual possessed a weapon, its “price goes up”, and it could be used with relative ease.
“We must strictly control the Rohingya movement,” he said.
Highlighting Chattogram’s regional and geographical significance, the commissioner said the area was central to the country’s economic activity and primary trade routes, making its security a national, not merely local, concern.
He said the region was frequently used for trafficking arms and narcotics, while kidnapping gangs also exploited the terrain. Chattogram’s geography, he added, allowed criminals to carry out operations and quickly blend back into the population.
Sanaullah also drew attention to the sizeable presence of religious and ethnic minorities in the Chattogram region, warning law enforcers that vested groups could attempt to provoke incidents involving minorities ahead of elections.
He instructed law enforcers to perform their duties with transparency, neutrality and firmness during the polls.
“Do not be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes happen when people work. A mistake is not the same as a crime. A deliberate mistake is a crime,” he said.
He advised officers to consult the Election Commission when necessary and to acknowledge errors openly so they could be corrected.
Sanaullah warned law enforcers not to take sides, saying neither the Election Commission nor the government would issue instructions -- directly or indirectly -- favouring any party. Any such directive, he said, should be treated as fake and the issuer brought under the law.
He urged officers to act honestly and impartially and cautioned against expecting incident-free elections.
“Elections in Bangladesh have never been without incidents. Incidents will happen -- but no one must feel encouraged to create them, and anyone who does must not go unpunished,” he said.
