APBn to resume policing inside Dhaka airport terminal after year-long row

The Chief Adviser's Office has moved to end a year-long dispute between the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and Aviation Security (Avsec) over security duties at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

A meeting, chaired by Lutfey Siddiqi, special envoy to the chief adviser on international affairs, on Wednesday (17 September), decided that the APBn will soon resume policing inside the airport's terminal building.

The meeting also resolved that the Bangladesh Air Force task force, currently deployed at the airport, will return to its parent force once its assignment is complete, according to official notes on airport security and policing.

The meeting adopted six key decisions:

• All agencies at airports will operate under the single authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), ensuring unified command, regulation and oversight.
• The APBn and Avsec will carry out their mandated responsibilities.
• The police chief and CAAB chairman will hold regular discussions to address operational challenges.
• Weekly security meetings will be mandatory at every airport.
• The civil aviation ministry may recommend long-term reforms to restructure CAAB, separating its operator and regulator functions.
• The APBn will resume policing inside the terminal building.

The meeting included Civil Aviation Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, Civil Aviation Secretary Nasreen Jahan, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam, Chief Adviser's Office Secretary M Saifullah Panna, CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq, Additional Secretary (Home) Faisal Ahmed, CAAB Member (Security) Air Commodore Md Asif Iqbal and Group Captain M Kamrul Islam of the Air Force headquarters.

Opening the discussion, Lutfey Siddiqi stressed the need for inter-agency cooperation, saying all government departments must act towards a common goal.

The Civil Aviation Secretary and CAAB chairman made separate presentations on CAAB's functions and the current security setup at airports.

Meanwhile, IGP Baharul Alam said, "Preventing and investigating crime is a legal mandate of the police, and no other agency is authorised to assume that role."

For nearly a year, the APBn and the Air Force-led Avsec had been at odds over security duties inside the airport.

The dispute deepened after the August 2024 change of government, when many Ansar personnel abandoned their posts, leading to the temporary deployment of Air Force personnel. Around the same time, the APBn was barred from duty inside the terminal.

Tensions escalated further when the APBn accused Avsec of removing items from its airside office, prompting the former to file a general diary with Airport Police Station.