Teacher's disappearance
The recent disappearance of a university teacher and the circumstances under which it occurred have once again thrust into the limelight the administration's inability to provide security to the citizens. Mubashar Hasan, an assistant professor at the North South University, went missing on Tuesday and remains untraceable although police say they are trying their best to locate him as soon as possible. That's hardly reassuring, given their past record on the recovery of the victims of disappearances. Hasan is reportedly the ninth to have disappeared since the last week of August.
The regularity with which such incidents are taking place is disturbing. Earlier this year, the United Nations' working group on enforced and involuntary disappearances called on Bangladesh government to act immediately to halt the increasing number of disappearances and abductions in the country. Usually, there can be any number of reasons behind a disappearance, and while the urge to point fingers at the security forces may be instinctive, given their past records, it's not wise to jump to any conclusion without proof. But it's the response from officials that sometimes makes us uncomfortable.
The home minister, after Hasan's disappearance, has reportedly suggested that some people are disappearing of their own volition to embarrass the government. The rationale behind such remarks eludes us. Providing security to the citizens is the responsibility of the government. You can't sweet-talk your way out of it. The public needs assurance that they are safe, and the administration needs to show strong resolve, through concrete action, to halt the culture of disappearances and recover the victims—both for the sake of public safety and police's credibility.
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