Chief adviser pledges all possible support to commission on enforced disappearance

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Saturday pledged to provide all possible support to the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances to help identify those responsible for enforced disappearances between 2009 and 2024 and hold them accountable.

“We will facilitate anything that you need and provide all kinds of support,” Dr Yunus told the commission members during a meeting at his office, attended by several advisers and key officials, according to a spokesperson of the chief adviser.

The commission members informed the meeting that they would submit an interim report to the government by mid-December before working further on the matter.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said that the government would extend the tenure of the commission, if necessary, by up to two years and issue the necessary orders, including creating legal provisions to protect the victims.

Commission chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, a retired High Court justice, said that as of October 31, the commission had received about 1,600 complaints, reviewed 400, and interviewed 140 complainants.

"We are overwhelmed by the number of complaints. Many people are still not coming forward to the commission, fearing retaliation from members of law enforcement agencies. From this, we can infer that the number of incidents is much higher than what has been reported so far," said a commission member.

The commission member further said that they suspect the total number of enforced disappearances could be at least 3,500, adding that they are working on identifying both the perpetrators of these crimes and those who ordered them.

The commission also revealed that many of the victims are in jail, some even facing death sentences, after being forced to give confessional statements in court while shown as arrested.

Some disappearance victims are believed to be imprisoned in neighbouring India.

The commission members requested the government's assistance in protecting evidence at secret locations where victims were held.

“Many victims told us that they did not see the sun for years. They could sense that it was a new day only when breakfast was served,” said a commission member.

The member also requested the government to impose a travel ban on the accused individuals and, if possible, to cancel their passports.

Home Adviser Lieutenant General (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who also attended the meeting, said the government would take action immediately as soon as the commission provides a list of the accused.

Mahfuj Alam, special assistant to the Chief Adviser, emphasised the importance of making the commission’s findings public and exposing those responsible for overseeing the enforced disappearances.

Advisers Salehuddin Ahmed, Nurjahan Begum, Adilur Rahman Khan, M Sakhawat Hussain, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, special assistant to the chief adviser, Lieutenant General (retired) Abdul Hafiz, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, and Principal Press Secretary Md Siraj Uddin Mia were also present at the meeting.

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