// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Anwarul Iqbal a good bowler? He's got a great iq-ball.

For other people with similar names, see Anwarul.

Anwarul Iqbal
Inspector General of Bangladesh Police
In office 6 July 2006 – 2 November 2006
Preceded by	Abdul Kaium
Succeeded by	Khoda Baksh Chowdhury
Personal details
Born	(1950-10-01)1 October 1950 Feni, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Died	15 January 2015(2015-01-15) (aged 64) Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Education	Chittagong University Bramshill Police Staff College
Police career
Unit	Dhaka Metropolitan Police
Allegiance	Bangladesh
Branch	Bangladesh Police
Service years	1973–2006
Rank	IGP

Anwarul Iqbal (1 October 1950 – 15 January 2015) was an adviser of 2007–2009 interim caretaker government of Bangladesh. He was appointed Local Government and Rural Development Minister & Labour Minister of the non-party interim caretaker government of Bangladesh on 17 January 2007 and remained in that post until elections were held two years later. Later, he was given the charge of the Jute & Textile Ministry. He had the responsibility to head three ministries of the government of Bangladesh. He was an inspector general of the Bangladesh police. He went into voluntary retirement from the IGP post after he had been made officer on special duty and within few days he took charge as the adviser of the caretaker government headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed during the state of emergency in Bangladesh which was declared on 11 January 2007.

Education

Iqbal earned a master's degree in Bengali literature at the University of Chittagong. He was a freedom fighter in the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Career

Police

Iqbal joined the Bangladesh Police on 22 August 1973. During his career, he would serve in various units at the sub-district and district levels, as well as the Chittagong and Khulna Metropolitan Police, and the Armed Police Battalion. He would receive additional training at the Police Staff College, UK, and the UN Human Rights Centre, Geneva. Iqbal was awarded the President Police Medal in 1980 for his contributions to the police and the country. From July 1989 to July 1990, he was superintendent of police in Kushtia.

In the mid-1990s he participated in two UN peacekeeping missions. He was chief of staff of CIVPOL as part of ONUMOZ in Mozambique from December 1993 to December 1994. And he was police commissioner of UNAVEM III in Angola from March 1995 to June 1997. There CIVPOL monitored the neutrality of the Angolan National Police, the demobilization of UNITA forces, and the disarmament of civilians. Iqbal wrote that police too often arrived in Angola ill-prepared. Some were without necessary documents and uniforms, and morale was low. Too many lacked the language, driving, and technical skills needed. He urged better preparation and training. By this time he was a senior superintendent.

He was awarded the Bangladesh Police Medal (BPM) in 2000. After a stint as commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police from 26 July 2001 to 11 November 2001, he was moved to head the Criminal Investigation Department. A second BPM followed in 2002. He was additional inspector general of Special Branch in 2004.

In February 2004, he became the founding director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The new unit soon developed a reputation for being aggressive. By the end of the year, there had been around 60 deaths in their custody, typically in what the RAB termed "crossfire". Iqbal pledged that all deaths in RAB custody would be investigated, and any extrajudicial killings would be prosecuted. Under his tenure, 133 RAB members were returned to the units they had come from as punishment for a range of offences, from breaches of discipline to robbery, corruption, and bribery. On 22 April 2005, he was transferred to police headquarters, and Abdul Aziz Sarkar replaced him as director general of the RAB.

On 6 July 2006, Iqbal became the inspector general of police (IGP), the top position in the force. At the beginning of November 2006, at the start of the 2006-2008 Bangladeshi political crisis, he was replaced by Khuda Baksh Chowdhury and made an officer on special duty. Days later, Iqbal took voluntary retirement, ending a 33-year police career.

Interim government 2007–2009

On 11 January 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed resigned as chief adviser of the caretaker government, as did most of his advisers. Fakhruddin Ahmed, a former Bangladesh Bank governor, was made chief adviser. Iqbal was sworn in as an adviser (equivalent to a cabinet minister) of the caretaker government on 16 January 2007. He was given charge of two ministries: the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Iqbal led the drafting of several ordinances meant to empower local government and reduce control by the central government. The president promulgated the Local Government Commission Ordinance 2008 and Upazila Parishad Ordinance (2008). Their effects were short-lived, however, because the next elected government did not ratify them. They were annulled or repealed.

As the adviser of Labour and Employment ministry, he managed to set a standard of labour wages, benefits like service book, holidays, ID cards etc. and constant effort on implementation of minimum wages in all the factories throughout the country improved the Compliance situation up to mention able level in the garment sector of Bangladesh. This ultimately improved the labour rights situation in the country and concludes an era of labour violence in the sector. Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector is the highest foreign currency earner for Bangladesh. He also led the way to finalise the new Labour Law in Bangladesh and successfully eradicated Child Labour from hazardous work.

The other ministry he headed was Ministry of Jute and Textiles. One of the major achievements of Iqbal's time is reopening a number of major jute mills of Bangladesh which were closed down to lessen losses of government.

Death

Iqbal died from a cardiac arrest, suffered while working out at his daughter's home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 15 January 2015. He was married to Dora Anwar. Together they had two daughters, Fahbin Anwar and Tasnim Anwar.