US visa restriction won’t affect police force: DMP

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has assured that the recently implemented US visa policy will have no adverse effects on the members of the Bangladesh Police Force or their duties. 

"We have over 2 lakh personnel in the Bangladesh Police. Now, the question arises: How many of them genuinely want to go to America? The answer is quite minimal. Considering this perspective, we firmly believe that this visa restriction will not have any impact on the police," DMP Spokesperson and Deputy Commissioner Faruk Hossain said during an interaction with reporters at the DMP Media Center on Sunday (24 September).

He reassured that the police operate strictly within the bounds of the law, and the visa policy will not impede the fulfillment of their duties.

"The US visa policy has been applied to certain law enforcement personnel, but we have not received a definitive list of those in it," the spokesperson added.

He further noted that should the visa policy take full effect, it may limit the ability of the affected individuals to travel to the United States.

The United States introduced the visa policy on 24 May with the objective of ensuring fair and free elections in Bangladesh. Four months later, the United States announced on Friday (22 September) that it is moving forward with plans to impose visa restrictions on individuals responsible for obstructing the democratic electoral process. This group includes members of law enforcement, ruling political parties, and opposition parties.

This development follows previous sanctions imposed by the United States in December 2021, which targeted seven officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on allegations of human rights violations. Notably, among those who faced sanctions were the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and the former director-general (DG) of RAB Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.