NHRC gets new chief, members

The government yesterday appointed former bureaucrat Kazi Reazul Hoque as the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and six new members.

Kazi Reazul, a former secretary, joined the office yesterday, filling the post that had remained vacant since Prof Mizanur Rahman completed his tenure on June 22.

Earlier, Kazi Reazul had served as a full-time member till June 22, 2016 from 2010.

The new chairman told The Daily Star that his office will work with a view to making people aware about human rights and prioritise its protection.

The commission will also work to raise awareness against terrorism and militancy, he added.

Former secretary Md Nazrul Islam has been appointed as a new full-time member while five others as honorary members.

They are Prof Meghna Guhathakurta, a former faculty of international relations department of Dhaka University; Banchita Chakma, former principal of Rangamati Government College; Prof Akhter Hussain, chairman of public administration department of DU; Enamul Hoque Chowdhury, former press minister at Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi; and Begum Nurunnahar Usmani, a former senior sessions judge. The chairman will get facilities including salary and other allowances equivalent to those of a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, and the full time members to those of a judge of the High Court Division of the SC.

After obtaining his masters degree from DU, Kazi Reazul joined the civil service and retired as a secretary in 2006.