STAR REPORT

The government has appointed four special assistants to the prime minister on a contractual basis, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Public Administration yesterday.

According to the notification, Tanvir Ghani has been appointed special assistant for investment and capital market affairs; Bijon Kanti Sarkar for Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and ethnic minority affairs; Shakirul Islam Khan Shakil for overseas employment in the Asia-Pacific region, and Saiyed Abdullah for youth employment.

Under the Rules of Business, 1996, the prime minister made the appointments, said the notification.

Of the four, Tanvir Ghani and Bijon Kanti Sarkar will hold the rank of state minister. Tanvir is chairman of Osiris Group, an Asian investment firm, while Bijon serves as adviser to the BNP chairman and chairs the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Welfare Front.

Shakil, a former student and teacher of Bangladesh Agricultural University, is currently a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology at Oita University, Japan. Saiyed Abdullah is a former law student at Dhaka University.