Even as Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman prepares to go on an unusual month-long visit to the United States, another senior officer, Lt Gen Kamrul Hassan, has begun to play an active role over the issue of logistics and supplies support to the Arakan Army.
On May 10, Bangladesh National Security Adviser (NSA) Khalilur Rahman met Lt Gen Hassan, the Principal Staff Officer, at the Armed Forces Division for an hour. Rahman, who is also the High Representative on the Rohingya Crisis and Priority Issues, today met Lt Gen Hassan again at 9:15 am for 30 minutes.
The ostensible reason for two successive meetings is being said to be the contentious “humanitarian corridor” for repatriating the 1.4 million Rohingya refugees — including new arrivals – living in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar area, the real motivation for Rahman’s frequent meetings with the PSO could be to evolve a plan to provide supplies and logistics support to the Arakan Army.
Suffice it to say that the both the AFD and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) not only view the “humanitarian corridor” as a “national security issue” that needed a “decisive response”, the two key segments within the Army seek to play a “more active and comprehensive role in securing the border, ensuring stability, and safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty”.
Later in the day, Lt Gen Hassan left for Cox’s Bazar to hold a conference with the Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin before returning to Dhaka the same evening.
However, the change in Gen Zaman’s plans – he was earlier scheduled to leave for Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium and Exposition-25, on May 11.
He was to return to Dhaka on May 23.
His itinerary has now changed and he will embark on a month-long visit to the US, including an extended leave in that country.
Rahman, who floated the idea of a “humanitarian corridor”, ostensibly aimed at facilitating the repatriation of Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar met US Charge d’Affaires in Dhaka, Tracey Ann Jacobson, yesterday evening and was closeted with the American diplomat for nearly two hours.
Around the time Rahman walked into the US embassy in Dhaka’s Baridhara neighbourhood, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, Ayed Ahmed Maroof, flew out of Shah Jalal International Airport for a home visit, a day after he held meetings with representatives of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in Cox’s Bazar.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain will leave for Berlin for a two-day UN Peacekeeping Ministerial which serves as a high-level political forum to discuss the future of peacekeeping and for member states to express and demonstrate their political support.
Hossain will be accompanied by Lt Gen (retd) Andul Hafiz, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Defence and National Solidarity Development, Maj Gen Hussain Muhammad Masihur, Bangladesh Peace Support Operation Training Commandant and two other officials, including a deputy inspector general of police.
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Bangladesh is one of 14 co-chairs for the Peacekeeping Ministerial, which includes the US, the UK, Canada and Pakistan among others.
The ministerial is expected to provide a platform for delegations to announce substantial pledges in support of closing capability gaps and adapting peace operations to better respond to existing challenges and new realities.
The ministerial meeting is also expected to contribute to increased safety and security for peacekeepers deployed and foster overall mission effectiveness.
