Bangla Press Desk: Serious questions have been raised about whether Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, the interim government’s adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, lawfully met the requirements for his firearm licence, with allegations surfacing that he misled the public about his eligibility.
On Sunday, a magazine of live ammunition was discovered in Adviser Asif’s bag at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, confirmed Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, executive director of the airport.
Asif acknowledged the presence of the magazine in a late-night Facebook post, claiming it was packed unintentionally.
Under the government’s official guidelines for issuing personal firearm licences, an applicant must be a citizen of Bangladesh; physically and mentally capable, aged between 30 and 70 years; and apply as an individual applicant.
The applicant must submit income certificates issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) with his/her application.
However, according to the website of the Local Government Division, Adviser Asif is 26 years old—four years below the minimum age requirement of 30 outlined in the firearm licensing policy.
Investigative journalist Zulkarnain Saer, in a Facebook post on Sunday night, questioned whether Asif fulfilled the government’s mandatory requirements or not.
He added, “Even if Asif has crossed 30, did he provide the required record of paying at least Tk300,000 annually in income tax for three consecutive years, supported by NBR certification? That is mandatory.”
Saer further argued, “If Asif was exempted from tax requirements because of his ministerial status, then he should clarify where he obtained the money to purchase the firearm and through which channels it was acquired.”
Although Asif insisted in his post that there was “nothing illegal or intentional” about carrying the magazine and cited “security threats” as the reason for keeping a licensed weapon, the questions over whether he satisfied basic eligibility criteria have fuelled debate about possible misuse of firearm regulations by politically connected individuals.
Speaking to the Daily Sun about potential violations of the firearms act, rights activist Advocate Manzill Murshid questioned whether Asif had told the truth at all.
“They can obtain firearm licences even if they don’t fulfil the criteria because they do whatever they like,” he said. “Their acts become the rules, and they don’t need to show any respect for the law.”
He added, “The country isn’t run by law anymore. They’ve established a mobocracy to secure their personal interests, keeping Prof Muhammad Yunus at the forefront.”
Different standards for ordinary citizens?
“But who will arrest the adviser?” he asked. “If the police arrest him, his student followers will appear as a mob and beat the police to death.”
Murshid, who is also president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, said advisers like Asif are undermining the aspirations of citizens who had dreamed of a new dawn free from corruption and abuse of power. This article was originally published on Daily Sun.
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