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Straight line

Behind the cancelled political intelligence office

The most important safeguards lie in the character and self-discipline of the leadership of the intelligence service and of the people who work for it—on the kind of men and women on the job, their integrity and their respect for the democratic processes and their sense of duty and devotion in carrying out their important and delicate tasks.

Muhammad Nurul Huda
The chain of events regarding the now-defunct never-really-bom political intelligence office of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has undoubtedly created curiosity and misgivings in the minds of concerned citizens. The matter, however. would not have attracted much attention if the alleged political intelligence unit reportedly created under DMP Rules 2007 went about its mandated functions in a low key business-as-usual manner. Some other functional units including the much dreaded RAB continue to function without any significant demand from any quarter to put a stop to their work except the "crossfire' killings
Going by experience it appears likely that the Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police wanted to have the support of an exclusive intelligence cell that would report directly to him. Under the present arrangement his intelligence assistance and briefing comes from the Dhaka Qty Special Branch unit of the Special Branch which is under the administrative and operational command of Additional IG. Special Branch. In the past, some chiefs of DMP wanted to take over effective control of the city unit of Special Branch but their efforts did not materialize. Such in-fightings are not uncommon in bureaucratic parlance.
What, however, should bother right-thinking people in Bangladesh is the quantum of the so-called political intelligence and
the mode and manner of gathering it. Coming to specifics, how much of surveillance of constitutionally-oriented political parties should be necessary in public interest? How do we prevent the dilution of State and government interests that has so often derailed our intelligence outfits from their real job?
It may be relevant to point out that our constitution narrates eloquently our national interests. It says that the aim of the state is to
realize the democratic process in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice, political, economic and social, will be secured for all citizens. It further affirms that it is our sacred duty to safeguard, protect and defend this constitution and to maintain its supremacy as the embodiment of the will of the people of Bangladesh. It categorically states that the constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law of the Republic.
The above constitutional stipulations have been highlighted because apparently the mission and strategy of our crime fighting and intelligence organizations had not been stable at least in so far as the domestic threat scenario is concerned. It is felt that those have invariably substantially altered with the change of a political government. One may not be far from the reality to say that it has been our unfortunate experience to witness the differing political agendas often clouding the pragmatic understanding and appreciation of our real national interests.
If we delve into the past we will be confronted with shamefully unpleasant facts. In the not-too-distant past we had the unpalatable experience of witnessing a very sensitive intelligence organization working principally for the whims and caprices of a virtual dictator and using public funds for creating and destabilizing political parties, political horse-trading and shadowing people on personal and flimsy grounds. No wonder in such a scenario the professional efficiency was sacrificed and public servants turned into personal servants with the attendant ignominy.
One has to remember that ensuring internal security is closely associated with the task of collecting and collating intelligence in the interests of the state. In reality, in our situation, the interests of the state often get diluted and mixed up with the interests of the government of the day. The situation is marked by an unfortunate lack of understanding and appreciation of the requirements of the state and the government in a democratic and pluralist society like ours.
The unpleasant truth is that intelligence agencies maintain file and shadow the leaders and workers of pronouncedly constitutional politics-oriented parties belonging to the opposition who are recognized partners in the business of politics. At some point of time when such opposition party comes to power, there is an uneasy relationship between the political bosses and the agencies. In such a scenario, professionalism becomes the worst casualty, sense of direction is lost, and the organization dips into a lackadaisical environment and interests of the state take a back seat surrendering greater space to partisan considerations. It is needless to say that the values of a democratic polity are universal and as such demand unconditional adherence to it.
Bangladesh polity is now challenged by hostile groups that pro-
fess a philosophy of life and of government inimical to our own. In fact, we are now facing an adversary who are armed enough to commit widespread violence. In our free society while our defences and deterrents are largely prepared in open fashion, our new antagonists have succeeded in building a formidable wall of secrecy and security. So, to bridge the gap and warn ourselves in time, we have to rely more and more upon our intelligence operations. There is a need to break through the shield of secrecy of the bigots. The special techniques which are unique to secret intelligence operations are needed to penetrate the security barriers of the extremist outfits.
Our preparation to combat the extremists cannot wait for evidences of the likelihood of further hostile acts against us. We should, therefore, be forewarned and forearmed. The act of forewarning could itself constitute one of the most effective deterrents to the bigot's appetite for attack. Intelligence should not be a tabooed subject. What we are
striving to achieve should be an advertised fact.
The most serious occupational hazard in the intelligence field is prejudice. While we arc all creatures of prejudice, we must be able to avoid bending of facts obtained through intelligence to suit or defeat a particular political viewpoint.
We have to admit that we are not really at peace with the so-called religious extremists because they have declared war on our system of government and life. The reality is that we are faced with a closed, conspiratorial and scheming enemy. We cannot hope to maintain our position securely if our opponent is confident that they can attack us at the time and place of their choosing and without any forewarning.
In the last analysis the most important safeguards lie in the character and self-discipline of the leadership of the intelligence service and of the people who work for it—on the kind of men and women on the job, their integrity and their respect for the democratic processes and their sense of duty and devotion in carrying out their important and delicate tasks.
Our intelligence organization needs to work under pragmatic political leadership and if properly and professionally steered, it does not threaten our liberties. If we operate by the book, we will be adequately informed of the perils which face us. If we do not know the designs of the so-called religious-extremists, then we could well be isolated and our liberties, too could be in jeopardy. Therefore, we must be ready to deal with all aspects of the not-very-visible war of the bigots with all its ramifications and fronts, supported by external resources. The last thing we can afford to do now is to put our intelligence in chains. Its protective and informative role is indispensable in time of unique and continuing violence in the name of religion.
Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist for The Daily Star.