The cabinet yesterday approved a draft law to ensure security of the family members of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with immediate effect.

The weekly cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, gave the approval in principle to the proposed law titled "Father of the Nation's Family Members Security Act 2009.”

Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder placed the draft of the law at the meeting, which endorsed it after a brief discussion. “Necessary measures will be taken under the proposed law to ensure foolproof security of the family members of Bangabandhu," the home secretary told The Daily Star after the meeting.

Home ministry officials said the law needs to be formulated mainly to protect the tw, o daughters of Bangabandhu- Shbikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.

The previous AL government passed a law on June 21, 2001 for providing full-time security of Special Security Force (SSF) to Hasina and Rehana. Hasina was then given the Ganabhaban, official residence of the prime minister, while Rehana was given a residence in Dhanmondi, stirring a huge controversy.

The BNP-Jamaat alliance government however scrapped the law in December 2001. The present government has decided to formulate a new law in line with a similar law that was scrapped by the BNP-led government.

Hasina survived several assassination attempts. On August 21, 2004, Hasina, the then leader of the opposition in parliament, survived a grenade attack while addressing a rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital. The attack left 24 people including ALleader Ivy Rahman dead.

In 2000, 80-kg RDX was found in Gopalganj where Hasina's helicopter was supposed to land. She was the prime minister at that time. She also came under intense fire in Chittagong in 1988 that left several people killed.

Sources said Hasina and Rehana might get round-the-clockSSF and other security as per the draft law. They may even get special homes.

The prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the meeting that the cabinet meeting also approved Mobile Court Law and National Information and Communication Technology Policy 2009.