Dhaka, Jan 06 (V7N)— Lieutenant General (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Home Affairs Advisor, has stated that the police verification process for passport issuance, particularly to prevent Rohingyas from obtaining Bangladeshi passports, cannot be removed immediately.

He made this statement during a visit to the Passport Department in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Monday morning.

The advisor explained that the system might be abolished once passport verification can be conducted using national identity cards. "The Police Commission is actively working on this. The interim government aims to implement e-passports for everyone within this year," he said.

MRT Passport Issue Addressed

Commenting on the MRT (Machine-Readable Temporary) passport issue, the Home Affairs Advisor clarified that there has been no fault on the part of the Passport Department. He attributed past complications with MRT passports to the previous Awami League government but assured that the problem has now been resolved. "The MRT passport will no longer exist," he confirmed.

Recommendation to Eliminate Police Verification

Earlier, Abdul Mueed Chowdhury, head of the Public Administration Reforms Commission, suggested that police verification for passport applications be discontinued. He shared this recommendation during a meeting with media personnel at the Secretariat on December 17. However, the advisor emphasized that such a change requires careful planning and cannot be implemented immediately due to concerns over national security.

The government is moving towards streamlining the passport application process and enhancing its efficiency through digital reforms like e-passports.

END/MSS/AJ