DHAKA: Bangladesh police yesterday launched a special intelligence unit to monitor the activities of political parties, one of which branded the move as “unfortunate and undemocratic.”
“We created the Political Intelligence Operation (PIO) to gather advance reports of what they (political parties) plan to do,” police commissioner Naim Ahmed told reporters. “The PIO will not only keep track on activities by political parties and allied organizations but also have an overall responsibility to help ensure a peaceful public life,” he said.
Suranjit Sengupta, a former lawmaker and senior leader of the Awami League party, described the unit’s launch as “unfortunate, undemocratic and unconstitutional.”
“The main task of the police is to track down and punish criminals, not to put a trail on political parties and their activities,” he told Reuters by telephone. “Such a move is possible only where politics is banned. That’s why we want politics to be fully restored.”
