Government on alert, no security concerns for Aug 5, says Advisor Jahangir

He says “mob” violence has decreased and will drop even more

Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has shrugged off concerns over security threats ahead of the anniversary of the fall of the Awami League government, but added that authorities remain on alert.

“We are alert, there is no security concern,” he said after a meeting at the Secretariat on Monday.

“I hope that all kinds of events and programmes will be held peacefully with everyone's cooperation. You [journalists] can say for sure whether the law and order situation has improved from what it was like at that time after the Awami League government left.”

The Sheikh Hasina-led government was toppled in a mass uprising on Aug 5 last year. An interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, then took over on Aug 8, 2024.

On Tuesday, the anniversary of the transition, Yunus will present the July Proclamation at 5pm at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital, with daylong events scheduled to commemorate the occasion.

In response to a question about a special government campaign, the home affairs advisor said operations are ongoing across the country and will continue through the general election.

“All kinds of preparations are being made to maintain law and order during the elections,” he said.

Jahangir acknowledged that the government has yet to recover all of the weapons lost over the past few months.

“We can’t deny that we haven’t been able to recover all the weapons that we lost. Efforts are always being made to recover them.”

He also spoke about a rise in juvenile crime in Mohammadpur, a neighbourhood in Dhaka, and urged families and communities to be more vigilant.

Addressing concerns about public unrest, he said mob violence has decreased and that authorities are not making concessions on the matter.

“Mob violence has decreased from before and will gradually decrease further. No concessions are being made in the case of mobs.”