Kobir’s Appointment Made in Line With Constitution: Asaduzzaman

Bangla Press Desk:  Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman on Tuesday said the government appointed Humaiun Kobir as state minister for foreign affairs in accordance with the Constitution, but did not directly answer whether Kobir renounced his British citizenship.

“The first thing is that the law is there as it is. Secondly, what this government has done has been done in accordance with the Constitution. There has been no deviation from the Constitution,” the minister told reporters after an event at the Ministry of Social Welfare in the capital.

 “So, whatever we have done, we have done constitutionally. This is called the deeming clause. When the oath was administered, it was done constitutionally,” he said.

According to multiple media reports, Humaiun Kobir holds foreign citizenship.

He took the oath as a state minister on August 21.

Asaduzzaman was addressing a ceremony to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on inter-institutional cooperation for “legal assistance, social protection, protection and rehabilitation of women, children and vulnerable communities.”

The MoU was signed among the Directorate of Bangladesh Legal Aid, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Women Affairs.

The minister also said the state will stand by victims who cannot afford to appoint lawyers to defend themselves, while the government is working to ensure legal protection for marginalised and disadvantaged communities.

 “Every person has the right to legal assistance and the right to be defended. It is both a human right and a fundamental right,” he said.

Asaduzzaman said the government wants to reach marginalised communities through the legal aid programme.

The objective, he said, is to ensure that if someone becomes a victim and cannot afford a lawyer, the state will bear the cost of providing legal representation.

The minister reiterated that the government is working to ensure the rule of law and human rights by ending the culture of politically motivated false cases, enforced disappearances and crossfire.