Army's magistracy power extended by 2 months
Staff Correspondent
The government has extended the special executive magistracy powers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces – the Army, Navy and Air Force – by another two months.
The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification to this effect on Friday.
According to the notification, commissioned officers ranked Captain and above in the Army, along with equivalent ranks in the Navy and Air Force, including those on deputation to the Coast Guard and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), will continue to exercise these special powers.
This extension follows a previous order issued on 17 September, which granted executive magistracy powers to the Army. The initial order was revised to include all branches of the Armed Forces, broadening their scope of authority.
The decision to grant judicial powers to the Armed Forces came amidst heightened tensions during the quota reform movement, which led to clashes across the country, including Dhaka.
On 19 July, following widespread unrest, the then-Awami League government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the Army.
The political landscape shifted dramatically on 5 August when a mass student-led uprising led to the fall of the Awami League government. Subsequently, an interim government was formed on 8 August, which decided to maintain the Armed Forces’ deployment nationwide due to the prevailing situation.
