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The National Committee for Intelligence Coordination is the principal forum used by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for matters of national security and coordination between intelligence agencies. Since its inception under Sheikh Hasina, the function of the council has been to advise and assist the prime minister on national security and foreign policies.
| Committee overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 2009 |
| Jurisdiction | Bangladesh |
| Committee executives |
|
| Parent department | Prime Minister's Office |
The committee also serves as the prime minister's principal arm for coordination and integration of intelligence on foreign, defence, and internal security matters by bringing together the principal civilian and military intelligence outfits. The council has counterparts in the Joint Intelligence Committee of many other nations.
History
editBangladesh is situated near the infamous ―Golden Crescent and close to the ―Golden Triangle-located in Myanmar. This makes it a transit point for the smuggling of heroin and illegal arms from Myanmar. From Bangladesh, one can easily reach Pakistan and Afghanistan. The close proximity of Bangladesh to Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan and insurgency affected states of India also results in a high probability for Bangladesh to have complex security problems arising from terrorism.[1]
The last nail of the coffin that showed the lack of coordination between intelligence agencies was the disastrous mutiny in the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in 2009, in which the country lost 74 people, including 47 military officers. Reform initiatives taken after the mutiny, which led to the creation of "National Committee for Intelligence Coordination".[2]
Structure
editCompared with the American, British, and Indian intelligence coordination structures, the intelligence coordination mechanism in Bangladesh is unique. At least two factors can reveal why the Bangladeshi case is unique and does not resemble the UK, US or Indian model.
First, the Prime Minister's security advisor is the coordinator of the NCIC, unlike the UK and India, where a serving bureaucrat in the cabinet secretariat assumes the role of intelligence coordinator. In the US, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is responsible for the coordination of various civilian, military, and signals intelligence agencies. In the United Kingdom and India, the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC)—located in the cabinet secretariat—is responsible for the coordination of domestic, external, and defence intelligence agencies. Therefore, a cabinet secretary in the British and Indian system of JIC acts as a counterpart of the American DNI.
Second, the co-ordination structure in Bangladesh is also sharply different from the American case, in which the position of Director of National Intelligence is separate from that of the National Security Advisor.[2]
|Members
|Cabinet Secretary
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister
Director General of National Security Intelligence
Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence
The Inspector General of Police
Director General of Special Security Force |- |Assisting Members |Director General of Rapid Action Battalion
Chief of Special Branch
Chief of Criminal Investigation Department |}
Functions
edit- Provide necessary information to the government before any crisis arises.[citation needed]
- Coordinate and strengthen the activities of the various intelligence agencies functioning within Bangladesh.[3]
- Improving the campaign against extremism through exchanges between law enforcement and intelligence agencies.[4]
References
edit- ^ Chowdhury, AKM Azam (January 2011). Military strategy of Bangladesh to counter terrorism in near future (Master of Military Art and Science). U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
- ^ a b "Intelligence reform in Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh under Awami League Government". www.asthabharati.org. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh: successes in counter-terrorism". Centre for Research and Information. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2016.