DHAKA, Oct 18: The government of Bangladesh on Tuesday finalized security arrangements for the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, with alleged militants topping the list of potential gatecrashers.
Nearly 30,000 soldiers will be deployed in and around the capital well before the 13th summit of the seven-nation forum scheduled for November 12 and 13.
Besides members of the intelligence agencies, Bangladesh Rifles, Ansar and the Crime Investigation Department, some 20,000 police personnel and 1,300 Rapid Action Battalion members will be assigned to maintain order.
The elite Special Security Force would be in command of the security arrangements, and will provide security to the heads of state and government alongside the President Guard Regiment.
Choppers of the Bangladesh Biman and the Rapid Action Battalion will hover over the city while Bangladesh Navy and the coastguards will remain on patrol on the river Buriganga and other rivers around Dhaka.
The summit venues -— the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, the Sheraton Hotel, the International Conference Centre, and the state guest house Jamuna -— will be the focal points of the operation.
“We have taken all possible steps to provide fool-proof security to the dignitaries,” state minister for home affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar, told reporters after presiding over the 10th and final meeting of the Saarc security committee at his ministry.
