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Anwarul Iqbal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anwarul Iqbal
Inspector General of Bangladesh Police
In office
6 July 2006 – 2 November 2006
Preceded byAbdul Kaium
Succeeded byKhoda Baksh Chowdhury
Personal details
Born1949 or 1950
Died (aged 65)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
EducationChittagong University (MA)
Police career
Allegiance Bangladesh
Branch Bangladesh Police
Service years1973–2006
RankInspector General of Police

Anwarul Iqbal (born 1949 or 1950; died 2015) was a Bangladeshi police officer and an adviser to the caretaker government from 2007 to 2009.

Iqbal was a freedom fighter in the Bangladesh Liberation War. He joined the Bangladesh Police in 1973 and worked in numerous branches of the service. He also served in senior positions in the police contingents of UN peacekeeping missions to Mozambique and Angola. When the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was formed in 2004, he was chosen as its first director general and led it until April 2005. From July to November 2006, he was inspector general of police (IGP), the highest position in the police force. He was awarded the President Police Medal and was awarded the Bangladesh Police Medal twice.

Months after retiring from the police, Iqbal was appointed an adviser to the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed. At first he was given charge of two ministries: the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Later, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute as well. He served until elections were held two years later.

Education

[edit]

Iqbal earned a master's degree in Bengali literature at the University of Chittagong.[1] He was a freedom fighter in the Bangladesh Liberation War.[2]

Career

[edit]

Police

[edit]

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.[1] From July 1989 to July 1990, he was superintendent of police in Kushtia.[3]

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.[4][1] 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.[4]

He was awarded the Bangladesh Police Medal (BPM) in 2000.[1] After a stint as commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police from 26 July 2001 to 11 November 2001,[5] he was moved to head the Criminal Investigation Department.[6] A second BPM followed in 2002.[1] He was additional inspector general of Special Branch in 2004.[7]

In February 2004, he became the founding director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

On 6 July 2006, Iqbal became the inspector general of police (IGP), the top position in the force.[10] 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.[11][12] Days later, Iqbal took voluntary retirement, ending a 33-year police career.[13]

Interim government 2007–2009

[edit]

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.[14] He was given charge of two ministries: the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.[15][16][17] In September, he travelled to Singapore for medical treatment, accompanied by his wife, Dora Anwar.[18]

Iqbal led the drafting of several ordinances meant to empower local government and reduce control by the central government.[19] The president promulgated ordinances regarding a local government commission and upazila parishads.[20][21] Their effects were short-lived, however, because the next elected government did not ratify them.[22][23] They were annulled or repealed.[24]

Child working in unsafe conditions in 2014

The newspaper New Age reported that in the first six months of the interim government, Iqbal failed to fully implement an agreement on minimum wages in the garment manufacturing sector. Also, the government's slum clearance activities made tens of thousands jobless. No provisions had been made to rehabilitate those evicted, even though legally required.[25] A year later, Iqbal spoke at the International Labour Organization (ILO) conference. He told them that the government had strengthened vocational training for the unemployed. He also said they aimed to get 30,000 children out of hazardous jobs by providing non-formal education and other assistance.[26]

The number of child labourers in Bangladesh at the time was estimated at 8.5 million, 1.4 million of whom were doing risky work.[27] A bright spot in the government's attempt to phase out child labour was the percentage of the population who had birth certificates (issued under the ministry of local government). It rose from 12% in 2006 to 40% in 2008. The absence of proof of age had hitherto complicated enforcement of child labour laws.[28][29]

Jute stalks drying

On 15 January 2008, a third ministry was added to Iqbal's portfolio. The Ministry of Textiles and Jute was reallocated from Geetiara Safya Chowdhury to him.[30][31] The government wanted to privatise money-losing jute mills.[32] In pursuit of this goal, in July 2008 they leased five mostly inoperative state-run jute mills to private operators. The mills (Karnaphuli Jute Mills, MM Jute Mills, People's Jute Mills, Qaumi Jute Mills, and RR Jute Mills)[33] continued to struggle with losses and closures under the next government.[34][35][36]

A general election was held in December 2008 under the caretaker government. The Awami League-led Grand Alliance won a commanding victory, and shortly Sheikh Hasina formed a new government.[37] Iqbal's time as an adviser ended on 6 January 2009.[16][17][31]

Death

[edit]

At the end of his life Iqbal was living with his two daughters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He died there on 15 January 2015 at the age of 65 from a cardiac arrest, suffered while working out.[38] He was buried at Banani graveyard.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "History". Rapid Action Battalion. Archived from the original on 8 April 2006.
  2. 1 2 "Ex-IGP Anwarul dead: Laid to rest". The New Nation. 23 January 2015.
  3. ↑ প্র্রাক্তন অফিস প্রধান [Former Heads of Office]. Office of the Superintendent of Police, Kushtia (in Bengali). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Iqbal, Muhammad Anwarul (1996). "An Overview of the CIVPOL Operations in Angola (UNAVEM)". The Role and Functions of the Civilian Police in the United Nations Peace-keeping Operations: Debriefing and Lessons : Report and Recommendations of the International Conference, Singapore, December 1995. Kluwer Law International. pp. x, 96, 98–99. ISBN 978-90-411-0949-1.
  5. ↑ "Former Commissioners". Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Chowdhury, Rashed (13 November 2001). "Shakeup in Bangladesh police force". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 Sufian, Abu (19 February 2004). "Rapid Action Battalion comes into being in a month". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015 – via News From Bangladesh.
  8. ↑ Abrahams, Fred (13 December 2006). "Judge, Jury, and Executioner". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Public security stays Rab's main task". The Daily Star. 22 April 2005.
  10. ↑ "Anwarul Iqbal new IGP". The Daily Star. 6 July 2006.
  11. ↑ "IGP, new DG RAB removed in another police shuffle". bdnews24.com. 1 November 2006.
  12. ↑ "Major shakeup in police admin". The Daily Star. 30 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "Ex-IGP opts for retirement after made OSD". The Daily Star. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Five more advisors inducted into Bangladesh's caretaker government". People's Daily. 17 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "New advisors of Bangladesh's caretaker government given portfolios". People's Daily. 17 January 2007.
  16. 1 2 "List of Ex-Ministers". Rural Development and Co-operatives Division. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Former Ministers, Ministers of State and Advisors". Ministry of Labour and Employment. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "LGRD Advisor off to Singapore for treatment". The Financial Express. 27 September 2007.
  19. ↑ "3 ordinances by this month to empower local govt". The Daily Star. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "Local Govt Commission to start functioning November 1". The Daily Star. BSS. 21 October 2008.
  21. ↑ Panday, Pranab (3 July 2017). "Decentralisation without decentralisation: Bangladesh's failed attempt to transfer power from the central government to local governments". Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. 39 (3): 181. doi:10.1080/23276665.2017.1363940.
  22. ↑ Panday, Pranab Kumar (4 July 2011). "Local Government System in Bangladesh: How Far is it Decentralised?". Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government. 9 (3): 221. doi:10.4335/9.3.205-230(2011).
  23. ↑ Ahmed, Nizam; Ahmed, Tofail; Faizullah, Mohammad (2010). Working of Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh: A study of twelve upazilas (Report). United Nations Development Program Bangladesh. p. 29.
  24. ↑ Ali, AMM Shawkat. "Upazila Parishad". Banglapedia. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  25. ↑ Shahiduzzaman (11 July 2007). "Rights gone wrong in emergency rites". New Age. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007.
  26. ↑ Iqbal, Anwarul. "Reports of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and of the Director-General: Discussion (Cont.)". Record of Proceedings (PDF). International Labour Conference: Ninety-Seventh Session, Geneva, 2008. International Labour Organization. p. 14/18. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Around 1.4 mln Bangladeshi children engaged with hazardous work". Xinhua News Agency. 18 May 2008.
  28. ↑ "Civil registration and vital statistics benefit health, child protection, and governance". Open Data Watch. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Moving towards universal birth registration". The New Humanitarian. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Matin given reins of home ministry". The Daily Star. 15 January 2008.
  31. 1 2 "Ex-Minister". Ministry of Textiles and Jute (in Bengali). Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "Loss-making govt jute mills to be privatised". The Daily Star. UNB. 17 April 2008.
  33. ↑ Naim-Ul-Karim (12 July 2008). "Five jute mills to go under private management". The Financial Express.
  34. ↑ "Govt to reopen five jute mills". The Daily Star. BSS. 17 June 2010.
  35. ↑ "People's Jute Mills resumes production at month-end". The Daily Star. 21 October 2010.
  36. ↑ "Two BJMC mills re-opened to revive jute production". The Financial Express. 27 January 2013.
  37. ↑ Harun-or-Rashid (2024). Understanding Fifty Years of Bangladesh Politics. Routledge. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-032-63601-6.
  38. ↑ সাবেক উপদেষ্টা আনোয়ারুল ইকবাল আর নেই. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 16 January 2015.
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