US visa restrictions won't harm police image, says IGP
Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police authorities also said the restriction will not have any negative impact on the force
Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun has said the force will not face any image crisis due to the United States' new visa policy on Bangladesh.
"I do not think it (US visa policy) will cause any harm to the image of police," he said in response to questions from journalists after attending an event of the Tourist Police on Monday (25 September).
The US Department of State announced on Friday that they started implementing visa restrictions on individuals deemed to have undermined the democratic election process in Bangladesh.
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IGP Mamun said the force will be under the Election Commission's jurisdiction during the polls time and will perform their duties according to the EC instructions.
Asked about illegal firearms recovery before the national polls and uses of firearms in recent times, he said that they take action immediately after any incident and will start raids for firearms recovery in due time.
Earlier on Sunday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police authorities also said that the visa restriction would not have any adverse impact on the force's activists.
The United States introduced the new visa policy on 24 May this year with the objective of ensuring fair and free elections in Bangladesh. Four months later, the country announced the start of implementation of the policy.
This development follows previous sanctions imposed by the US in December 2021, which targeted seven officers of the Rapid Action Battalion on allegations of human rights violations.
The senior officials facing US sanctions included the then IGP Benazir Ahmed and the then director-general of RAB and current IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
