Cabinet okays National Defense Policy

FT ONLINE

The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the National Defense Policy-2018 outlining the armed forces role during wartime and beyond.

The approval was given in the regular meeting of the cabinet held at Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

"The policy was prepared with a vision to build a people oriented, modern and professionally competent armed forces to protect the country's independence and sovereignty and ensure public welfare," cabinet secretary Md. Shafiul Alam told a media briefing at Bangladesh Secretariat.

He said described the policy as broad based policy which was based on 1974 policy outlined by Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The policy, Alam said, defined the national goals, objectives, national interests, country's core defense principles and outlined the armed forces capacity and issues related to their wartime deployment and secondary tasks beyond war.

The policy suggested formation of national higher defense authorities such as national committee on defense affairs and cabinet committee to be headed by the Prime Minister and the defense minister respectively.

The policy also defined military and non military relation and relation between military and civilians and media, the cabinet secretary said.

Under the policy, he said, all paramilitary and auxiliary forces will come under the operational command of the armed forces during war or any crisis period.

The cabinet today also approved the draft of the Fertilizer (management) (amendment) Act, 2018 prescribing tougher punitive actions against marketing of adulterated fertilizer.

The new law proposed two years of imprisonment or Taka 5 lakh penalty or both for trading adulterated fertilizer while the existing Fertilizer Act- 2006 carries six month prison term and Taka 30, 000 penalty for the offense.

Alam said the new law gave importance on trading and marketing of nutritious fertilizer having essential and balanced plant nutrients in every fertilizer.

According to the law a 17-member national fertilizer standardization committee headed by the agriculture secretary would monitor the fertilizer management issues.

The cabinet meeting yesterday also approved the draft of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority Act, 2018 and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Act, 2018.

The cabinet endorsed a Shipping Ministry proposal to declare the Capital and Maintenance Dredging of the Rabonabad Channel of Paira Port as a National Priority Project (NPP).

The cabinet approved a draft of an agreement to be signed between Bangladesh and India for cooperation regarding Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.