The interim government in Bangladesh on Tuesday granted magisterial powers to the country’s Army for 60 days, reported PTI.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Public Administration issued an order to this effect. The powers will be vested with commissioned Army officers.

This comes against the backdrop of the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime amid massive anti-government protests and the establishment of an interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.

Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz Zaman had briefly taken charge of the government after Hasina fled to India on August 5. The Yunus-led administration has faced challenges in restoring law and order since it took over on August 7.

The latest development gives the Army administrative and policing powers across “entire Bangladesh”, as per the order, including the power to arrest people and disperse rallies that it deems to be unlawful.

Section 17 of the country’s Code of Criminal Procedure gives Army officers the status of special executive magistrates and says that they will be subordinate to the district magistrates.

In self-defence and extreme need, the officer can open fire, The Daily Star quoted an unidentified government adviser as saying.

“We are witnessing subversive acts and disrupted stability in several places, especially in the industrial areas across the country,” PTI quoted Asif Nazrul, the adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, as saying. “Given the situation, Army personnel have been given magistracy power.”

PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying: “Police are yet to be properly functional. Subversive activities are taking place. Many police personnel in Bangladesh have been absent on the streets since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.”

ZI Khan Panna, a veteran Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist, criticised the move, according to The Daily Star.

“Has the government lost confidence in the magistrates?” he asked. “It is not right for Army personnel to perform magistrate’s duties under the deputy commissioners. It would not be wise to mix army personnel with the general public.”

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