No official count of Rohingyas yet: Home boss

Bangladesh is yet to have an official count of the Rohingya refugees who streamed into the country to escape persecution in Myanmar, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said today.

Citing a UN report that says 65,000 Rohingya Muslims entered the country to escape persecution in Myanmar, he said the number “is yet to be officially verified”.

He made the statement while talking to reporters at the conference of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) commanding officers at its headquarters at Pilkhana in capital Dhaka.

Last Tuesday, at the parliament, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said around 67,000 Rohingyas fled into Bangladesh to flee the persecution in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Home Minister Kamal had said over 5,000 Rohingyas were pushed back since October 8.

Bangladesh government has said it is continuing talks with Myanmar urging the neighbouring country to take back its stranded nationals.

Meanwhile, the government is also planning for a temporarily rehabilitation to Thengar char in Noakhali’s Hatiya island until their repatriation in Myanmar.