Published: 12:39 AM, 18 September 2026 Last Update: 12:42 AM, 18 September 2026
Govt moving towards deals with Israel, India on surveillance: Patwari
National Citizens Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari on Thursday alleged that the current government is moving towards agreements with India and Israel related to surveillance and access to citizens' digital communications. "We have heard that, behind the scenes, the current government is also moving towards such agreements with Israel and India. But they will not admit it publicly," he said.
Patwari made the remarks at a discussion titled "SRB, enforced disappearance and cyber law: Human rights violations", organised by the NCP at its central office in the afternoon, UNB reports.
Referring to the Digital Security Act enacted by the previous government, he said the law had been used to justify checking the Facebook and WhatsApp messages of political figures and other people.
He alleged that the previous government had entered into agreements with foreign powers, including India and Israel, to obtain such security and surveillance capabilities.
He called on experts in the field to bring the issue to public attention and examine whether the current government is pursuing similar arrangements.
"If the government goes to a foreign state and says it needs to see what the people of Bangladesh are doing on Messenger and WhatsApp, and asks companies operating here for call records, that raises questions about citizens' security," he said.
Patwari said the state has a responsibility to ensure security both offline and online and that laws are necessary to protect people from genuine security threats.
But, he said, national security should not be compromised in the name of protecting citizens, nor should citizens be handed over to foreign powers.
He said many Bangladeshis are not sufficiently aware of their constitutional and legal rights and that this lack of awareness was being used to introduce laws that could be used as "weapons".
Referring to Salahuddin Ahmed, He said there was no guarantee in Bangladesh regarding compensation for victims of enforced disappearance or whether such cases would be investigated independently.
"The person who was a victim of this kind of incident is now, through the stroke of his own pen, bringing such laws back to Bangladesh," he alleged.
AB Party secretary general Asaduzzaman Fuad alleged that the government is using legal provisions against critics over their Facebook posts and other public comments.
He said offensive or rude language should not automatically be treated as a criminal offence and alleged that such legal measures were aimed at weakening the balance within society and the state.
He said the government is also restricting criticism by bringing people under legal provisions for spreading what it considers misinformation or for making comments that could prejudice or harm the reputation of ministers and MPs.
He questioned the effectiveness of such restrictions, saying similar practices had existed during the Awami League government but had not prevented citizen journalists and others from disseminating information.
The speakers at the discussion included of NCP Law Affairs Secretary Zahirul Islam Musa, NCP Joint Member Secretary Faridul Haque, Jatiya Narishakti Convener Monira Sharmin, Citizens Coalition co-coordinator Fahim Mashroor, Member of the NCP Political Council Sarwar Tushar, NCP MP from Narayanganj-4 Abdullah Al Amin, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Nabila Idris, Women's reserved seat MP Tasmia Pradhan.
