The overriding security concern

Regardless of the grievances that the Ansar members had, their behaviour in and around the Secretariat was unacceptable. The events that unfolded on August 21 was unthinkable in the past but it had happened. No matter who did what, the fact remains that there had been a colossal failure in security is undeniable. Had students not responded to the call for help in large numbers, things could turn really ugly. But that's where the problem lies. The Secretariat is designated as a KPI (key point installation) and should have had layers of protection from law enforcement agencies.

Granted that the recent events have effectively decimated the ranks of the police force, but there are other organised forces like the BGB which could have provided the necessary security as back-up for the under-strength police force guarding this facility. The Secretariat had been left inadequately guarded. Why? This is a vital question that will be the talk of the country for a long time. Things are far from settled from a security point of view and heads should have rolled, but haven't. The issue of security had not been properly thought out until now and the occupants of the Secretariat have had a close shave.

One would have thought that the torching of two stations of the metro rail service last month would have served as a wake-up call for the authorities. Sadly, the policymakers in this country love to prepare rules and rule books on issues like KPI but are loathe to implementing those in right earnest. That is why perhaps it fell to the army to follow KPI rules on the Rooppur nuclear project as that force followed procedure to the letter. Is the Secretariat any less important than Rooppur? It is not simply another government office, rather it is the most important of offices where the ministers (and now advisors), the highest officials in the bureaucracy work.

Recently the concerned advisor has declared that metro rail is to be declared as a KPI. Precisely what enhanced security will be provided will be watched closely. Let there be no confusion about the Ansar incident. This was the first attempt at destabilisation and it may not be the last. The interim government is being tested to the limit to see if there is any crack. At a time when the nation is busy tackling the fallout from devastating floods, disgruntled members of a paramilitary force comes rampaging through the town creating havoc in the seat of government. This does not particularly inspire confidence in the law and order situation.

As pointed out by one secretariat official who spoke to the media: "This is unprecedented. We've never seen anything like this before. The Secretariat is supposed to be a secure area, yet protesters have breached it". One can realise how alarming this has been.

And what exactly does "enhanced security" mean? Is it merely adding some more armed personnel to sites or adding layers of protection to KPIs? There has to be stocktaking as to how and why law enforcement agencies had no prior warning about what was brewing somewhere else. A protest like this does not materialise spontaneously, rather it requires meticulous planning and organising. Where is the field level intelligence? What were the concerned agencies doing all this time? These are hard questions and the authorities need to start asking them. There needs to be stocktaking. This isn't child's play and unless the government is seen to be firmly in control, it will not instill confidence in the people that it can deliver on promises being made.

[email protected]