The delegation of magisterial powers to the Army will allow the Army to carry out police and jail related functions as well as the task of executive magistrates. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

The interim government of Bangladesh on Tuesday (September 17, 2024) granted magisterial and policing powers to the Bangladesh Army. An order issued by the Ministry of Public Administration announced the Bangladesh Army will exercise the granted powers for the next sixty days. 

The order is being interpreted as a step that will give greater responsibility to the Army in executing administrative and policing responsibilities across Bangladesh. The order issued by the Ministry of Public Administration did not specify if it would be applicable at the level of the districts and mentioned that the instruction is applicable in “entire Bangladesh”. 

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Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz Zaman had taken charge briefly after PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country and took refuge in India. He however took a back seat with the swearing in ceremony of the interim government on August 7. The delegation of magisterial powers to the Army will allow the Army to carry out police and jail related functions as well as the task of executive magistrates. 

Policing in Bangladesh has been severely impacted since the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 as the fall of the government rendered the police vulnerable to retribution from the masses because of the role of the police in the crackdown against the anti- Hasina protesters.

The interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus took charge on 7 August but has faced continuous law and order challenges ever since and Tuesday’s step is expected to curb some of the volatility and lawlessness witnessed in the districts in the last four weeks. 

Tuesday’s announcement about the army getting policing responsibilities coincided with a major show of strength by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Dhaka where its leaders said they would not undermine the interim government.