mohammad shamsul alam

বিমানবন্দরসহ সব ইমিগ্রেশনে তালিকা গেছে, কোনো আওয়ামী লীগ নেতার নাম নেই| 

সমীর কুমার দে ও মাসুদ কার্জন :

বিএনপি-জামায়াত জোট সরকারের সাবেক মন্ত্রী ও সংসদ সদস্যসহ প্রভাবশালী ৬২ জনের দেশত্যাগের ওপর নিষেধাজ্ঞা আরোপ করে জিয়া আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দরসহ সীমান্তের সব ইমিগ্রেশনে তালিকা পাঠানো হয়েছে। নতুন এ তালিকায় আওয়ামী লীগের কোনো নেতার নাম নেই।.

......তালিকায় আছেন যারাঃ এই ৬২ জনের তালিকায় যারা আছেন তাদের মধ্যে সালাহউদ্দিন কাদের চৌধুরী ছাড়া আরো আছেন এম মোরশেদ খান, মওদুদ আহমেদ, মির্জা আব্বাস, নাজমুল হুদা, আমিনুল হক, শাজাহান সিরাজ ও আলতাফ হোসেন চৌধুরী। খালেদা জিয়ার বড় ছেলে তারেক রহমান ছাড়াও লুৎফুজ্জামান বাবর, শাহজাহান ওমর, জিয়াউল হক জিয়া, ইকবাল হাসান মাহমুদ টুকু, মাহমুদুর রহমান, মোসাদ্দেক আলী ফালু, রশীদুজ্জামান মিল্লাত, নাদিম মোস্তফা,  নাসিরউদ্দিন আহমেদ পিন্টু, সালাহউদ্দিন আহমেদ, সাইফুর রহমানের ছেলে নাসের রহমান, সারওয়ার জামাল নিজাম, ধীরেন্দ্রনাথ সাহা, শহিদুজ্জামান বেল্টু ও মশিউর রহমান। এছাড়াও আছেন খালেদা জিয়ার ভাই ও সাবেক এমপি মেজর (অব) সাইদ এস্কান্দার, রাজনৈতিক সচিব হারিস চৌধুরী, ভাগ্গে ইঞ্জিনিয়ার শাহরিন ইসলাম তুহিন, ফিরোজ মাহমুদ ইকবাল ও এপিএস শামসুল আলম। 18 February 2009  Daily Samakal, Dhaka

১০ আগষ্ট ২০০৮ রবিবার (বছর ০৩ সংখ্যা ৬৬) 

প্রশাসন দাপিয়ে বেড়ানো কর্মকর্তারা কোথায়?

এনাম আবেদীন: জানা গেছে, সাবেক প্রধানমন্ত্রী খালেদা জিয়া এবং বিএনপির দুর্দিনে ওইসব কর্মকর্তাদের ক্ষমতার কথা আজ ঘুরে-ফিরে আলোচনা হচ্ছে। তবে বিএনপির পাশে দেখা যাচ্ছে মাত্র দু’একজনকেই। খালেদা জিয়া সরকারের দুইবারে পূর্ণ মেয়াদে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয়ের মুখ্য সচিব ছিলেন ড. কামালউদ্দিন সিদ্দিকী। দ্বিতীয় দফায় মুখ্য সচিব নিয়োগের সময় বিএনপির একটি অংশ তার বিরোধিতা করেছিল। তারা বলেছিল, খালেদা জিয়ার দুঃসময়ে কামাল সিদ্দিকীকে খুঁজে পাওয়া যাবে না। ঘটেছেও ঠিক তাই। জোট সরকারের ক্ষমতা হস্তান্তরের মাত্র কয়েকদিন আগেই তিনি বিদেশে পাড়ি জমান।..........চার সচিবের পর প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয়ের আরো তিন ক্ষমতাশালী কর্মকর্তা ছিলেন প্রধানমন্ত্রীর পিএস-২ সাইফুল ইসলাম ডিউক, এপিএস-১ শামসুল আলম এবং এপিএস-২ আবদুল মতিন। তাদের মধ্যে শামসুল আলম এবং মতিন জোট সরকারের শেষেরদিকে প্রমোশন পেয়ে উপসচিব হলেও বর্তমানে তারা ওএসডি।...........’৯১ পরবর্তী বিএনপি সরকারের সময়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর প্রটোকল অফিসার এবং বিরোধী দলের নেতা থাকাকালে খালেদা জিয়ার এপিএস থাকার সুবাদে মোট ১৫ বছর খালেদা জিয়ার স্টাফ ছিলেন শামসুল আলম। দীর্ঘদিন খালেদা জিয়ার সঙ্গে কাজ করার রেফারেন্স দিয়ে তিনি প্রধানমন্ত্রী কার্যালয়ে প্রভাব বিস্তার করতেন। পলিসি মেকিংয়ে না হলেও প্রশাসনের নিয়োগ-বদলিতে তার হস্তক্ষেপ ছিল বলে জোট সরকারের সময়ে প্রশাসনে ব্যাপকভাবে আলোচনা হতো।

১ আগষ্ট ২০০৯  

ক্ষমতার বলয়ে থাকায় ’৯১, ‘৯৬ ও ২০০১ সালের নির্বাচিত প্রধানমন্ত্রীর পার্সোনাল উইং-এর বেশির ভাগ কর্মকর্তা আচার আচরণে ছিলেন বেপরোয়া। প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয় সূত্রে জানা গেছে, ২০০১ সালে সাবেক চারদলীয় জোট সরকারের আমলে পার্সোনাল উইং কাউকে তোয়াক্কা করতো না। ওয়ান ইলেভেনের পর এ উইং-এর বেশির ভাগ কর্মকর্তা দুর্নীতির অভিযোগে অভিযুক্ত হয়েছেন। অনেকে বিদেশে পালিয়ে গেছেন। ..............সংস্থাপন মন্ত্রণালয় সূত্রে জানা গেছে, ওই সময়ের সহকারী একান্ত সচিব-১ মো: শামসুল আলম ও তার স্ত্রী প্রটোকল অফিসার-২ মেজর (অব:) খাদিজা আনাম বর্তমানে কানাডায় আছেন। দুর্নীতিসহ বিভিন্ন মামলায় অভিযুক্ত তারা। বিসিএস নবম ব্যাচের এ কর্মকর্তা বিএনপি সরকারের শেষ সময়ে প্রভাব খাটিয়ে পদোন্নতি নেন। এর আগে শামসুল আলম  ‘৯১ সালের বিএনপি সরকারের প্রধানমন্ত্রীর প্রটোকল অফিসার ছিলেন।

২৫ ‍অক্টোবর ২০০৭

জাহানারা বেগম কাজী ফারুক ও শামসুল আলমের বাসায় তল্লাশি

নিজস্ব প্রতিবেদক: সাবেক প্রধানমন্ত্রী বেগম খালেদা জিয়ার অব্যাহতিপ্রাপ্ত প্রাথমিক ও গণশিক্ষাবিষয়ক উপদেষ্টা অধ্যাপিকা জাহানারা বেগমের বাসায় গতকাল যৌথ বাহিনী তল্লাশি চালায়। এ ছাড়া প্রশিকার কর্ণধার কাজী ফারুকের বাসভবনেও গত রাতে যৌথ বাহিনী অভিযান চালিয়েছে। সাবেক প্রধানমন্ত্রী বেগম খালেদা জিয়ার এপিএস শামসুল আলমের বাসায় গতকাল দু’দফায় অভিযান চালানো হয়েছে। রাত ১০টার পর দ্বিতীয় দফা অভিযান চালানো হয় বলে সংশ্লিষ্ট সূত্রে জানা গেছে। গুরুতর অপরাধ দমন জাতীয় সমন্বয় কমিটির সর্বশেষ তালিকায় দুর্নীতির অভিযোগের ভিত্তিতে এই তিনজনের নাম প্রকাশিত হয়েছে। দুর্নীতি দমন কমিশনের প্রেরিত সর্বশেষ ৩৫ জনের তালিকার মধ্যেও তাদের নাম রয়েছে।

http://www.dailynayadiganta.com/2007/10/25/fullnews.asp?News_ID=48484&sec=1

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Weekly PROBE  News Magazine reports,

PS's and APS's seek nomination

A good number of PSs and APSs to the present and past Prime Minister as well as ministers are also vying for party nomination. While some of them are retired government officials, others are still working as PSs or APSs. Once they get assurance of party nomination they will leave their jobs. Those vying for the BNP ticket are Abdul Quayyum Chowdhury, former APS to Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, from Sylhet-3; Shamsul Alam, APS-1 to PM Khaleda Zia, from Shariatpur-3; SM Shah-en-Shah Shahin, APS to LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, from Narsingdi-5; Dr Firoz Mahmud Iqbal, PM's assignment officer, from Bogra-2; Dr Mahbubul Alam, who was APS to Health and Family Welfare Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf during Khaleda Zia's previous term in power, from Mymensingh-11; Nurul Islam Khan Masud, APS to Housing Minister Mirza Abbas, from Barisal-6; and Abdus Sobhan, former APS to State Minister for Housing Alamgir Kabir, from Nilphamari-3.

Those who may seek the AL ticket include Obaidul Moktadir Chowdhury, party President Sheikh Hasina's former Personal Secretary, from Brahmanbari-3; Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury Nasim, Hasina's APS, from Feni-2; former APS-2 AFM Bahauddin Nasim from Madaripur-2; former State Minister for Energy and Power Rafiqul Islam's Kamrul Hasan Bari from Jessore-5.

http://probenewsmagazine.com/index.php?index=2&contentId=862

Besides, the officials deprived of promotions, made OSDs or allegedly harassed during the last five years have started coming to the secretariat to meet the establishment secretary for justice.

Some 50 pro-AL officials and employees staged demonstrations at the secretariat on Sunday and Monday, which continued yesterday, witnesses said.

A group of officials and employees led by Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury, assistant private secretary (APS) to the former leader of the opposition, met the establishment secretary and demanded promotion of those deprived in the last five years, new postings of around 700 officials made OSD and punishment to those responsible for politicising the administration.

Sources said that the deprived officials are determined to continue creating pressure on the caretaker administration to meet their demands.

On Monday, a group of officials and employees led by the APS of former prime minister Shamsul Alam held a gathering at the secretariat in the name of exchanging Eid greetings.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/11/01/d61101013325.htm

Reports

Tension continues to brew at secretariat

Showdown by two groups of government officials -- 'politically victimized' ones and those who were 'beneficiaries' during the last five-year BNP rule -- created an uneasy situation inside Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.

A group of officers led by Shamsul Alam, who was assistant personal secretary to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, went to different sections of the establishment ministry at 11:00am yesterday, witnesses said.

But when Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury, assistant personal secretary to the opposition leader along with some others made OSD by the BNP-Jamaat alliance government went to the establishment ministry, some fourth class employees misbehaved with them.

Following the incident, several officers including Alauddin and Abu Alam Shaheed, a senior assistant secretary -- who were made OSDs during the BNP rule met the establishment secretary and informed him of the matter.

"A group of officers led by Shamsul Alam instigated the fourth class employees to misbehave with these officers," Abu Alam Shaheed told reporters.

During the five-year regime of the BNP, these officers were made OSD, harassed and deprived of promotions and postings, he said, adding that they will appeal to the chief of the caretaker government to get promotions and postings.

"I went to the ministry to join after discharging my duty as APS to the opposition leader. But fourth class employees misbehaved with us," said Alauddin Ahmed Chowdhury.

Little work was done in different sections of the secretariat yesterday.

It is taking time to start normal routine work at the secretariat as the names of the advisers to the caretaker government are yet to be announced, an officer at the secretariat said yesterday.

Police were on alert at the secretariat yesterday.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/10/31/d61031011614.htm

Staff Correspondent

   The Bangladesh Secretariat passed its first day under the caretaker government on Monday amidst tension and even saw a scuffle between the pro-BNP civil servants and those deprived of promotions and postings in the past five years of 4-party alliance rule.
   Most of the secretariat staff had a dull day with hardly any work to do. Secretaries to some ministries however sat in meetings with their subordinates.
   A number of civil servants who consider themselves deprived staged a demonstration led by Abu Alam Shaheed, an assistant personal secretary to Sheikh Hasina during her premiership, at the establishment ministry at 11:30am in demand of ‘justice’ from the interim government.
   They turned aggressive when Mohammad Toha, whom they dubbed ‘a pro-BNP official’, of the forest and environment ministry, asked them to return to their respective offices without making noise at the corridor of the establishment ministry. At one stage, the two groups started scuffling, requiring police on duty to intervene and disperse them from the spot.
   Abu Alam, a senior assistant secretary in rank and now an officer on special duty, blamed Shamsul Alam, a former APS to the immediate past prime minister, Khaleda Zia, for the bedlam.
   A group of officials and employees led by Shamsul Alam marched along the corridors of the secretariat buildings at 10:00am in an apparent showdown that, according to some of his opponents, sparked adverse reactions among the deprived officials and led to their demonstration half an hour later.
   Abu Alam alleged as many as 1,200 civil servants fell victim to discrimination and repression by the alliance government in various ways. ‘We want justice from the caretaker government chief,’ he said.
   The time has come to do something for them, the establishment secretary, AFM Solaiman Chowdhury, told New Age about the deprived officials. He said, ‘At our meeting today, we discussed the grievances of the OSDs as well as of the officials who are eligible but have been left out in promotions.’

http://www.newagebd.com/2006/oct/31/front.html

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Anti-terrorism Talks
Chance of national consensus slim

Invited 30 parties, 15 trade bodies divided over joining the dialogue
Staff Correspondent

The prime minister until yesterday invited 30 political parties and 15 professional bodies to a national dialogue on combating terrorism, but with the invitees clearly divided over the issue little possibility is there of striking a national consensus.

Except Jatiya Party (JP-Ershad), the mainstream opposition parties and opposition-backed professional associations refused outright to join the dialogue, while the ruling alliance partners, some minor political parties and pro-government professional bodies accepted the invitation.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday and the day before delivered the invitation letters to the offices of the political parties and professional bodies of teachers, lawyers, journalists, physicians and engineers, saying the date and time of the dialogue would be fixed in consultation with them.

"We have sent the prime minister's letters to about 30 political parties and 15 professional bodies," Prime Minister's Assistant Private Secretary (APS) Shamsul Alam told The Daily Star.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who returns from Makkah tomorrow, will finalise the schedule of the dialogue based on the responses of the invitees, PMO sources said.

Watching the reactions to the PM's letter many political observers believe setting the dialogue schedule may take quite some time, as some parties and professional bodies are yet to decide whether to join it or not.

"We have received the letter and our executive committee will sit in a couple of days to take a decision," Islami Shasantantra Andolon Assistant Publicity Secretary Shahidul Islam Kabir told The Daily Star yesterday.

Sources said Ershad, chairman of the second largest opposition party in parliament, has decided under 'government pressure' to sit in the dialogue, though a section of his party leaders are against the decision.

Anwar Hossain Manju, the lone lawmaker of the JP faction led by him, said his party does not believe in negative politics. "We want to share our concerns on what is happening in the country," he told The Daily Star, avoiding a direct answer to the question--whether his party would join the dialogue or not.

Another lone lawmaker, Abdul Kader Siddiqui of Krishak Sramik Janata League, said, "We have no objection to sit in a dialogue with the government on a national issue. But, we will not attend any dialogue if Jamaat-e-Islami is there."

Kader Siddiqui also criticised the way the letter had been addressed. "My name was only on the envelope. But the letter inside did not address my party or me. It just said 'dear colleague'… the letter could have been meant for anyone," he noted.

Another opposition political party represented by a lone lawmaker in parliament, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, is yet to get the invitation. However, the party leaders said, even if they are invited, they will not join the dialogue.

The other political parties having representation in parliament invited to the talks are partners of the ruling alliance -- Jamaat-e-Islami, two factions of Bangladesher Jatiya Party and four factions of Islami Oikya Jote.

Khaleda from a November 30 public meeting urged all political parties and the civil society members to sit across the table to find ways and means to put an end to terrorism, militancy and extremism in the name of religion. But the Awami League-led 14-party opposition combine rejected the dialogue proposal outright.

The premier then launched the formal invitation process on Tuesday by sending a letter to Opposition Leader and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, who however refused to receive it and rejected to participate in the dialogue.

Of the professional bodies, Dhaka University Teachers Association (Duta) President Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique received the invitation letter on Tuesday night. "We have to decide the matter at a meeting of our association," he told The Daily Star.

Bangladesh Bar Council Vice President Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud, who also received the invitation, turned it down. "There will be no dialogue with bombers and those who have been patronising militancy in the country," he told a discussion yesterday afternoon.

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Advocate Mahbubey Alam also received the letter but dismissed the invitation, terming it a farce. However, the SCBA will take a decision in this regard at a meeting soon, he told reporters at his office yesterday.

Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Secretary General AZM Zahid Hossain said the apex body of doctors will join the dialogue. "We are yet to get the letter, but the prime minister's APS has informed me about the invitation," said Zahid Hossain, also the president of pro-BNP Doctors' Association of Bangladesh.

Sources said pro-opposition factions of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists will not attend the dialogue while their rival factions will.

The possibility of Bangladesh Bar Council and the Duta participating in the dialogue is also slim, sources said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/08/d5120801011.htm

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Dhaka, Dec 6 (UNB) - Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's letter inviting opposition leader Sheikh Hasina to join the ongoing national dialogue on how to tackle the current spate of bomb terrorism was not received by Sudha Sadan today (Tuesday), which signifies their refusal to participate in the consultation.

PM's APS-1 Shamsul Alam carried the letter at about 5pm, but there was none at the residence of Sheikh Hasina to receive it, sources said.

Alam waited there about 15 minutes but failed to deliver the letter. One Akkas Ali from Sudha Sadan told the PM-office emissary that there was "no one at the house to receive this letter".

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-139492458.html

Staff Correspondent

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia sought cooperation from Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina 'in resisting subversive activities' in a letter last night after reportedly dropping her plan to visit her political arch-rival amid protests by opposition activists.

Khaleda reiterated her 'concern, indignation and condemnation' at Saturday's 'heinous bomb attack' after her cabinet also condemned the attack and promised stringent punishment to the guilty.

The prime minister offered her deep personal sympathy for Hasina and called upon all to join hands to resist such nefarious subversions in the interest of the nation, people's welfare and consolidation of democracy.

Khaleda's emissaries reached near Sudha Sadan at 10:50pm, but could not hand over the letter because of strong protests by Chhatra League activists.

The cabinet at the regular weekly meeting passed a proposal condemning 'the bomb blasts that killed 18 people and injured over one hundred others'.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan moved the proposal at the meeting chaired by Khaleda at the PMO.

The cabinet asked intelligence agencies track to quickly track down the criminals involved in the incident.

Khaleda scrapped her visit to Sudha Sadan on intelligence of the agents posted in front of the Dhanmondi residence of Hasina, also president of the main opposition Awami League, sources said.

Top leaders of the AL pegged Khaleda's probable visit 'a mockery and an attempt to distract people's attention' from a string of grenade attacks on the rally in front of the party headquarters on Saturday that killed 18 people and injured 200 others.

On hearing the news that the prime minister was coming to see the AL chief to express her sympathy, opposition leaders and adherents burst into angry protests at around noon.

In half an hour, hundreds of activists put up roadblocks on all roads leading to Sudha Sadan and many of them lay on the road stretch between the house on Road No. 5 in Dhanmondi and the Mirpur Road forming a protest human shield.

They also brought out a shroud procession, burnt an effigy of Khaleda and shouted slogans linking the government of a role in the attack until 3:00pm.

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told The Daily Star that the prime minister's political secretary phoned his counterpart and told him about the visit.

"But we have told them that it's not possible and she (Khaleda) will not be welcome here," Jalil told newspersons in front of the Sudha Sadan.

"The prime minister wants to stage-manage a drama with the intention of shifting people's attention from the grisly attacks to elsewhere," Jalil added.

"The government didn't even give us the bodies for janaza. After all these, the prime minister's wish to visit Sheikh Hasina is nothing but a mockery."

Jalil said people wanted immediate resignation of Khaleda for her government's failure.

Hasina's Political Secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury said a call from the PMO came Sunday night, but he (personally) didn't feel like allowing a mere 'photo session' in the name of offering sympathy.

"They (the government) didn't give us bodies of the deceased for janaza. The police didn't take a case from us. There is no scope for sympathy."

Security blanketed all roads to Sudha Sadan and a law-enforcers, in force, guarded Mahbub Bhaban on Road No 5 that also houses the residences of prime minister's eldest son Tarique Rahman's father-in-law and Communications Minister Nazmul Huda.

The agitating party men beat up a youth suspecting he had been filming the demonstrations for an intelligence agency. Police rescued the youth after a long scuffle with the demonstrators.

Earlier in the morning, Special Security Force (SSF) personnel from Prime Minister's security team recced Sudha Sadan and its environs.

UNB adds: Prime minister's Political Secretary Harris Chowdhury admitted to making contacts at different levels from Sunday night to arrange the visit.

"We hope a meeting between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition would ease the situation and resolve many other issues," he told newspersons at his office yesterday afternoon.

Harris said the prime minister had tasked him with conveying her intent to see Hasina.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/08/24/d4082401055.htm 

This time Kamal Siddiqui has gone to the news agency to tell us he was the good guy and the administration he served for five years as principal secretary to the prime minister was a disaster because it did not accept his recommendations! At least, Kamal was honest in giving us a correct assessment of the past government’s performance. However, this admission leaves unanswered a number of ethical questions and questions of propriety. Why did he go on accepting one, two, three, four and, finally, five extensions while convinced that he was supervising a den of corruption? Did he ever consider either not accepting these extensions or resigning as the principal secretary? My contacts in the bureaucracy tell me he quite enjoyed the job because of the power and the aura it carried. I guess Kamal has taken leave of his senses if he expects that people will now believe any of the nice things that he is trying to say about himself because it is only the man without character who accuses, as he is doing now, a government that he has served at the top because in the public mind serious questions have now arisen about that government.
   The most interesting and, I should say, amazing part of Kamal’s latest attempt to disassociate himself from the government he has served was the revelation about the assistant private secretary to the prime minister. He has now called him a criminal! As a member of the public I would be very interested to hear from Kamal not vague words but very clear ones about this gentleman’s power base. We all know an assistant private secretary is a mere section officer and hence very inconsequential to have even his presence felt in any office, let alone the PMO, in any way but the routine. Here we have the principal secretary telling us that he could not remove this officer when he was in office and now he is asking the caretaker government to arrest him as a criminal! This is a very serious admission and should be taken up immediately by the authorities concerned. I think Kamal has seriously lapsed in his judgment in making this admission and has given the authorities an opportunity to really investigate for sake of the country what type of corruption really goes on at the highest seat of the government. I believe this should be investigated and if this is done, I believe Kamal himself will be caught in the tangle. So much for his common sense and integrity!
   Shahjahan Ahmed
   Dhanmondi, Dhaka
   

http://www.newagebd.com/2006/nov/12/fb.html

Like Rashed Ahmed (November 12), I also wonder why is Kamal Siddiqui speaking to the press and entangling himself in a controversy that is absolutely unnecessary. I also agree that the allegation of corruption by PM’s personal staff Shamsul Alam should be seriously taken and followed up. Will the establishment secretary take the initiative right away?
   As far as I know, Kamal Siddiqui’s clout in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) started to erode significantly around the middle of 2004.  It had commenced towards the end of 2003 when Prime Minister Khaleda Zia began to listen to one of his political secretaries on administrative matters. The prime minister’s office was gripped in conspiracy. The conspirators wanted to get rid of all possible opponents and thereby establish monopoly in terms of influence on the prime minister.
   In this regard let us not forget how the PM’s private secretary Nurul Islam had to make a very unceremonious exit as he tried to confront this political secretary. Nurul Islam was a professional bureaucrat with expertise, honesty and integrity. He was successfully scandalised and put on compulsory retirement on an absolutely baseless, fictitious charge.
   The other political secretary was promoted as an MP and honourably kicked out of the prime minister’s office. However, let us not forget that on one occasion he was denied access to the PMO, thanks to the machination of the remaining political secretary.
   Appropriate measures were also taken by the vested quarter to find a way out for PM’s political adviser Salahuddin Quader Chaudhury. I do not clearly remember if this attempt was successful and he was eventually sent abroad on an international assignment.
   Kamal Siddiqui survived because Khaleda Zia trusted him and would not let him go under any circumstances. Secondly, the conspirators did not want to risk being manhandled by Kamal Siddiqui.
   Having said that, like Shahjahan Ahmed (November 12), I also think Kamal Siddiqui has seriously lapsed in his judgment in making public comments on very sensitive matters when the country is gripped in dismal instability and conspiracy. However, I value his statements as an invaluable input for understanding the politics of public administration at its very top. In fact Kamal Siddiqui should give us an autobiographical account of his five years in the prime minister’s office. He is a great writer. It would not take him long.
   Ehtesham Patwary
   Azimpur, Dhaka
   

   I am utterly shocked by Shahjahan Ahmed’s evaluation of Kamal Siddiqui’s letter, written to the members of the civil bureaucracy and covered in the New Age on November 5. Willingly or unwillingly, he has misconstrued the objective of Siddiqui’s desperate appeal to the civil service he is leaving behind. That Kamal Siddiqui served as principal secretary to the PMO does not disqualify him anyway whatsoever from giving some good pieces of advice to fellow civil servants, if he chooses to do so. He has spoken out at a time when the civil servants are being tossed and flipped like toys in the hands of all.
   Let us accept the fact that in today’s Bangladesh all the civil servants are destined to serve under this or that political government whose main target is rent-seeking. This is a matter of inevitable destiny for all the bureaucrats and none is spared.
   It is a flawed stance to equate a civil servant’s position with the office he serves. The relevant question is whether he is involved in corruption and malpractice or not. None can say that Siddiqui ever involved himself in any instance of corruption or malpractice. It is painful to observe that Shahjahan Ahmed made a wrongful judgment by suggesting that, in his capacity as the principal secretary to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Kamal Siddiqui ‘supervised’ the systematic dissemination of the values that any bureaucracy needs for survival. This is the last thing he would ever do.
   That one did not speak out during his service does not by any means strip him off his moral right to speak out his mind after resignation or retirement. There is a set of ‘conduct rules’, and a civil servant is not supposed to ignore those during his period of active service. It is also unjustified to ask a civil servant to resign on account of his failure to influence his political master into the right direction.
   One can hardly contest Siddiqui’s contention that it is essential for the officers and employees of the republic to stay away from party politics for the welfare of the country. His emphasis on continuous learning in course of the career is a call of time. Many in the bureaucracy of Bangladesh agree with his concepts of ‘scholar bureaucrat’ and ‘intellectual renaissance’ in the civil bureaucracy. It is indeed a matter of great regret that Shahjahan Ahmed chose to attack Siddiqui instead of upholding his viewpoint. It is a pity.
   Khaleq Mian
   Kanthalbagan, Dhaka

http://www.newagebd.com/2006/nov/14/fb.html

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18 November 2006

Dr Kamal Siddiqui’s hypocrisy

This refers to two very interesting letters one by Shahjahan Ahmed and another by Rashed Ahmed. While agreeing fully with the views expressed by them, I would like to add a few more of my own to a vital issue of national importance. The issue is that of gross abuse and misuse of powers by the top bureaucrats while in office, then after leaving office they usually remain silent about their deeds and misdeeds.
   Dr Kamal Siddiqui appears to be an exception to the rule by trying to defend his vicious role played as the principal secretary to the last BNP government. Either he is too clever or too stupid trying to desert a sinking ship or to find an escape route for his future survival in this country. The knowledgeable circles know how powerful or how vindictive he was to his adversaries while he was holding that all powerful office in the last PMO. By trying vainly to shift the blame for his self-confessed ‘failure’ on a petty official like APS Shamsul Alam, he has in fact exposed and incriminated himself.
   However hard he tries to rationalise his criminal activities, apart from numerous other misdeeds, at least one fact is sufficient to prove what far reaching damage he has almost single-handedly caused to the whole nation by repeatedly sending back tender documents for the big power generation projects like Meghna Ghat, Bagahabari etc. to the power ministry run by the sacked state minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud.
   The power generation and power supply, which is virtually the life blood of a civilised nation, has been sabotaged by this evil duo despite allocation of over Tk 17,000/ crore in five years for this vital sector. He can by no means absolve himself of this guilt by deliberately throwing our whole economy into such an incurable crisis from which it will take another half a decade to recover only if constructive initiative is taken right away.
   Despite his intellectual credentials by serving a thoroughly corrupt regime for full five years, gleefully accepting unprecedented five extensions and thoroughly enjoying his absolute powers which as we know corrupts absolutely, the fact remains he is guilty of gross misconduct. Thus he has proved himself to be a bureaucratic black sheep who is thoroughly untrustworthy.
   Therefore, Dr Kamal Siddiqui’s hypocrisy and betrayal must not be allowed to die down. He has invited trouble himself. Let him face the music now. You can fool some people for sometime, all people for sometime, but not all people for all time.
   AH
   Dhaka

http://www.newagebd.com/2006/nov/18/fb.html

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PM invites Hasina for talks, AL ditches offer

MOAZZEM HOSSAIN and KHADIMUL ISLAM

  The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, on Tuesday invited the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina, to a national dialogue on the crisis that the back-to-back suicide bomb attacks last week has posed for the nation.
   Hasina’s Awami League, the largest party in the opposition, however, readily rejected the invitation, saying it would not join any such dialogue as it believed a section in the BNP-led four-party alliance was behind the emergence of Islamist militancy.

   A delegation from the Prime Minister’s Office carried a letter, signed by Khaleda, to the residence of Hasina in the afternoon, within three hours of the prime minister’s departure for Saudi Arabia to join a two-day extraordinary summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conferences that begins Wednesday. Hasina’s personal staff refused to receive the letter.

   Later, in the evening, the Prime Minister’s Office faxed the letter to Hasina’s parliament office, Harris Chowdhury, the political secretary to the prime minister, told New Age.
   The prime minister, in her letter, greeted the opposition leader and informed her of the recent incidents of bomb attacks.
   ‘You know that subversive bomb attacks are being carried out across the country. As a result, innocent people are killed, many receive injuries and property is being damaged as well,’ wrote Khaleda. ‘Public security has been threatened as an alien and derailed force has been carrying out the subversive activities in the name of Islam. Those activities also tarnish the image of the country.’
   She sought cooperation from all concerned to find ways to bring to an end the bomb blasts and the militancy in the name of Islam through a national dialogue.
   A conspiracy has been hatched against the democratic process, social stability and financial advancement, claimed Khaleda in the letter and said she had taken all-out measures to face the crisis.
   She also referred to the international practice of united efforts to resolve national crisis. ‘The people in Bangladesh too expect now that we get united and resolve the problems.’
   The crisis in neither political nor partisan in nature; it is a national crisis, observed Khaleda.
   It is difficult for one party to resolve the crisis, she added. ‘To resolve this crisis, we are going to hold a national dialogue, what the people expect too. I hope you will take part in the dialogue to fulfil the people’s expectation…’
   In an instant reaction to the prime minister’s invitation, Hasina’s political secretary Saber Hossain Chowdhury accused the government of practising double standards.
   ‘It is blaming us on the one hand and inviting us to a dialogue on the other.’
   He referred to the remarks by a number of ministers and senior BNP leaders over the recent spate of bomb attacks and demanded that the government should clarify its views about the opposition in respect of the blasts.
   ‘The government must make it clear whether or not it really believes the terrorists have links with the opposition parties,’ Saber said referring to Khaleda’s recent statements that blamed the opposition parties for the blasts.
   The Awami League secretary general, Abdul Jalil, told journalists that there was no need for a national dialogue, as his party believed a section in the government was behind the emergence of militancy.
   Earlier, the Awami League ruled out any dialogue with the government and said the only way to end violence was the resignation of the BNP-led four-party alliance.
   The government has long denied the presence of Islamic militants in the country.
   In the recent days, however, the government has linked the Islamist militants with the bombings that have killed more than 160 people since 1999.

http://www.newagebd.com/2005/dec/07/front.html

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By Matiur Rahman Chowdhury
06-December-2005

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday sent letters to 16 political parties inviting them to a national dialogue on combating the rising religious terrorism in the country.

Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina refused to receive the letter, as the Awami League-led 14-party dubs the government's offer 'nothing but a farce'.

http://www.voanews.com/bangla/archive/2005-12/2005-12-06-voa9.cfm?moddate=2005-12-06

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UNITED NEWS OF BANGLADESH, Dhaka

The assistant private secretary-1 to the prime minister has been served with a show-cause notice for abusing power for personal benefit.
   The principal secretary to the prime minister, Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, served the notice to M Shamsul Alam on January 30.
   According to the show cause, a copy of which was obtained by the news agency Tuesday, Shamsul was asked to give reply within seven days.
   Shamsul tarnished the image of the prime minister by making the allotment of a house entitled for a secretary-level officer, in his favour, said the notice.
   Another allegation against him is that Shamsul purchased a house for Tk 2.77 crore in the name of his brother-in-law from an auction of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha.Shamsul was not available for comment.
   Following is the translated full text of the show cause letter served upon Shamsul Alam by Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui:
   ‘You, Mr M Shamsul Alam, Assistant Private Secretary-1 to the prime minister, the Prime Minister’s Office, living at House No. CEN (G) - 16 B on Road No. 112 at Gulshan. It is a government abandoned property and according to government housing rule only the officials equivalent to the post of secretary can get its allotment and in the past secretaries got the allotment. An allegation has been raised that you, despite a senior assistant secretary, made the allotment of the house against your name, by misusing power. Image of the honourable prime minister has been tarnished by making the allotment by putting influence as a personal staff of the honorable prime minister.
   The abandoned house you are currently living in, was sold in a recent auction of the RAJUK. One M Ariful Hasan, Anika Enterprise, 11/5 Salimullah Road, Mohammadpur, Dhaka purchased the house at Tk 27,787,600 as the highest bidder. The allegation is that there is no business house named Anika Enterprise in that address. The address shows that it is the residence of Mr Ruhul Amin, father-in-law of Ariful Hasan. In the auction documents, the permanent address was 276 Bosepara, Rajshahi; but originally Ariful Hasan is from Natore. The mobile phone number given in the auction documents was 0173-000784, although Ariful Hasan does not use the phone, you have been using the phone. Whenever one calls to this number, always you, M Shamsul Alam, is available on other side of the phone. It is also alleged that Ariful Hasan is your brother-in-law. You took part in the auction in the name of your brother-in-law and purchased the house. Participation in any such auction through impersonating is punishable under the Government Employees (Disciplinary and Appeal) Rules of 1985.
   ‘It has been further alleged that Mr Ariful Hasan is not capable to buy a house costing Tk 27,787,600 by his earning from his business and job. You Mr Shamsul Alam, by impersonating, supplied the entire money for your brother-in-law to purchase the house.
   ‘In this context, living in a house (you are) not entitled to and living in a house, only a secretary can get allotment, purchasing a house (you are now living in) in the name of your brother-in-law and supplying money for it, which is contrary to your income, is violation of the government laws and rules. Since, the image of the prime minister has been tarnished and question has been raised about transparency in the public administration, you are requested to submit explanation within seven days as to why action will not be taken against you under Rule 3(B) of the Government Employees (Disciplinary & Appeal) Rules 1985 against your offense.’

http://www.newagebd.com/2005/feb/09/front.html

UNITED NEWS OF BANGLADESH, Dhaka

The assistant private secretary to the prime minister, Shamsul Alam, has refuted the allegations made in the show cause notice served recently on him by the principal secretary to the prime minister, Dr Kamaluddin Siddiqui.
 

Shamsul said the allegations brought in the show cause were untrue and he had no relation with the incident of auction mentioned in the show cause.

‘I have already replied to the show cause notice,’ he told the news agency.

 http://www.newagebd.com/2005/feb/10/front.html

ষ্টাফ রিপোর্টার:.......এ যাত্রায় মহাশক্তিধর এই কর্মকর্তা রক্ষা পেয়ে যাচ্ছেন বলে আভাস পাওয়া গেছে। এমনকি সামসুল আলমের বিরুদ্ধে যারা চলমান বির্তর্কটি তুলেছেন তারাই ভৎর্সনার পাত্র হয়েছেন বলে জানা গেছে। অপরদিকে সামসুল আলম-খাদিজা আনাম দম্পতিকে মুখে কুলুপ এটে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর দফতরে নিজ নিজ দায়িত্ব পালন করতে বলা হয়েছে। তাঁরাও তাকিয়ে আছেন প্রধানমন্ত্রীর সিদ্ধান্তের দিকে। জানা যায়, সামসুল আলমের কারনে বিয়ামে কর্মরত বিতর্কিত মহাপরিচালক শহিদুল আলমের চুক্তিভিত্তিক নিয়োগের মেয়াদ বৃদ্ধি অনিশ্চিত হয়ে পড়লে তাঁর ভাগ্যাকাশে কালো মেঘ জমে। তবে চলমান বিতর্কে যেই জয়ী হোক, এ নিয়ে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর দফতরের যে প্রশ্নের সম্মুখীন হচ্ছে তাতে কারও সন্দেহ নেই।জানা গেছে, প্রধানমন্ত্রীর আস্থাভাজন হিসাবে প্রশাসনের উচ্চপদস্থ কর্মকর্তাদের ওপর সামসুল আলম প্রচন্ড দাপট দেখিয়ে আসছেন বলে আমলাদের সন্দেহ। এর আগে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর সচিব নূরুল ইসলামকে ওই অফিস থেকে বিদায় করার নেপথ্যেও নাকি তার মূখ্য ভূমিকা ছিল। সামসুল আলমের ক্ষমতা ও প্রভাবে উচ্চপদস্থ আমলাদের প্রভাব-ক্ষমতা খর্ব হলে তাঁরাই সামসুল আলমের বিরুদ্ধে উঠে পড়ে লাগেন বলে জানা যায়।.........জানা গেছে, সামসুল আলম তাঁর শ্যালকের নামে বাড়ি কেনার বিষয়টি পুরো অস্বীকার করেছেন। জানা যায়, তাঁর স্ত্রী খাদিজা আনামের বাড়ি নাটোরে। খাদিজা আনামের দুই ভাই। ..........আরিফুল হাসান নামে যার কথা বলা হচ্ছে, তার বাড়ি কেনার  সঙ্গে সামসুল আলমের কোন সম্পর্ক নাই।

জনকন্ঠ রিপোর্ট:..........এ রকম প্রভাব প্রতিপত্তি খাটানোর অভিযোগ ওই দফতরের অনেক কর্মকর্তার বিরুদ্ধেই রয়েছে। এদিকে সামসুল আলমকে মূখ্যসচিব কামাল সিদ্দিকী শোকজ করেছেন। কিন্ত তাঁর ঘরেই রয়েছে প্রাপ্যতার চেয়ে অধিক ভোগকারী কর্মকর্তা।..........সূত্র জানিয়েছে, গুলশানের যে বাড়িটির কথা বলা হচ্ছে সেটির জন্য রাজউক টেন্ডার ডেকেছিল ২০০৪ সালের ৬ জুলাই। ২ কোটি ৭৭ লাখ ৮৭ হাজার ৬০০ টাকা নিলাম উঠলেও আরিফুল হাসানের নামে বাড়িটি যখন বরাদ্দ হয়, তখন তাতে ৩ কোটি ৪ লাখ টাকা লেখা হয়। পরে ওই ব্যক্তি আর রাজউকে টাকা জমা দেয়নি।

Staff Correspondent

An uneasy calm is prevailing at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) over a show-cause notice on an assistant private secretary (APS) to the prime minister for abuse of power and massive corruption.

Sources said the contents of the show-cause notice on APS Shamsul Alam have become a hearsay at the PMO since the major national dailies carried the news on Wednesday and follow-up reports yesterday.

A section of the PMO staff, who are less controversial and do not have any major allegation of corruption against them, have become vocal about it. They are asking top officials and ministers to take immediate action against the APS for the sake of image of the prime minister, they said.

Principal Secretary to the PM Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui issued the show-cause notice on January 30 asking Shamsul to explain within seven days the purchase of a government house for Tk 2.77 crore in the name of his brother-in-law through auction and living in the house for long.

Officials of the rank and status of secretary were usually allotted that house at Gulshan, but the APS being a senior assistant secretary-level official was allotted it before he purchased it.

Sources at the PMO also said officials, who made huge money in the last three and a half years, are now panicked about leaking of such reports against them. They are now making all efforts to conceal the matter and lobbying with top officials and BNP leaders for this.

An influential official said the PMO staff are apparently divided over the scandal of the APS, many of them openly siding with him and many others going against him.

The official thinks there may be more such press reports on corruption as both the sides are out to defame each other. "Most rooms at the PMO have become centres of extortion and dens of corruption for long but no actions have been taken in this regard due to unknown reasons," he added.

Talking to The Daily Star, a senior minister on condition of anonymity said the PM in her speeches repeatedly warned against corruption but she does not know how much money was made by some of her personal staff, who sit in her office.

Showing a newspaper report, he said the PM on August 28 in 2002 at Chittagong divisional representatives' meeting in Dhaka said, " Her government's first challenge is to curb crimes and corruption. We are going ahead with specific plans to eliminate these two septic wounds…We have made it clear that whoever is involved in crimes and corruption must face legal action."

On September 4, the PM in a similar programme renewed her commitment to fight poverty, violence, corruption and misuse of the country's resources. "No forbearance, sympathy or mercy will be shown on party or personal grounds. No-one will get any mercy however powerful or whatever post he may hold," she asserted.

Another minister said it was wise for the PM to remove the corrupt officials much earlier but it is high time now to remove them immediately and take legal action against them in the interest of image of the PMO and the government.

If no action is taken against corrupt officials, it would encourage them to step up their corrupt practices as the government's tenure ends next year, the minister thought.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/02/11/d5021101109.htm 

Staff correspondence

The corruption allegation against one of the assistant private secretaries to prime minister (PM) has been shelved at the dictate of the higher authority considering the image of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) as well as that of the government.

Highly placed sources at the PMO said that the issue has been permanently covered up and instruction given to authorities concerned not to proceed with the matter anymore as it might embarrass the government further.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui on January 30 served a show-cause notice to APS-1 to the PM Shamsul Alam for abusing power for personal benefit, buying a house under false name etc.

According to the show cause, the APS tarnished the image of the prime minister by first taking allotment of a house meant for a secretary-level officer.

The second allegation says that the APS purchased a house for Tk 2.77 crore in the name of his brother-in-law from an auction of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), on false pretense.

The principal secretary's notice published in most national dailies on February 9 generated widespread discussion in all levels. Many felt that it was only the tip of the icebergs as many other officials of PMO indulged in corruption.

The APS in his reply of the show-cause denied all the allegations put against him.

Officials said that the APS in a very brief reply of the show-cause denied the charges brought against him by the principal secretary.

The APS concerned is of the rank and status of a senior assistant secretary of the administration. He served as protocol officer to the PM during Khaleda Zia's previous tenure and was later appointed as APS to the Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001.

Shamsul Alam's wife Khadiza Khanam, who was a major in the nursing department of Bangladesh Army and attached to the PMO during BNP's previous regime, is now serving as protocol officer-2 at the PMO on contract.

Sources said officials at the PMO, who made huge amount of money through corruption and abuse of power in the last three and a half years panicked at the principal secretary's move and worked as a group to convince higher authorities to drop any investigation against Shamsul Alam, fearing greater revelation of corruption.

A section of officials at the PMO made all efforts to convince the prime minister and other policymakers of BNP to drop the APS issue as investigating the allegations might embarrass the government further.

According to highly placed sources the principal secretary has been asked by his higher authority at the PMO not to proceed further and bury the issue permanently.

Since then, the principal secretary has kept silent and the issue has been sent to the deep freeze. Meanwhile the accused is continuing his service as APS to the PM and not a minimum action has been taken against him.

Sources said government agencies have been instructed not to investigate the corruption issue of the APS fearing that digging of the incident might reveal other names who committed similar or bigger corruption.

"The APS is a hardcore man of the Hawa Bhaban and other corrupt and influential section of BNP. He is so influential and well connected that nobody can touch him," said a cabinet minister on condition of anonymity.

According to PMO insiders, a section of influential officials at the PMO, some BNP leaders and their relatives, including the APS purchased 14 government abandoned houses in city's posh Gulshan, Baridhara and Banani areas at much lower price secretly. It has been learnt that similar house at a throwaway price was bought by some very senior person at PMO.

Though the RAJUK floated tender in May last year to sell the abandoned houses, eligible buyers could not get tender copies from banks as they mysteriously disappeared. Prospective buyers were told not to try as the matter was 'settled'. As a result, the 14 government men purchased the houses easily, as others could not participate in the tender.

Reliable sources said 13 other BNP men, who purchased the abandoned houses, became united immediately after the show-cause notice was served against APS Shamsul Alam and they launched a combined move against the principal secretary and charged him with "sabotaging and destroying the image of the government".

All the buyers of the abandoned houses have now joined in a campaign against the principal secretary and they are attempting to remove him from the PMO, arguing that he may start corruption proceeding against others, thereby further embarrass the government.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/03/06/d5030601055.htm 

........Second is the story of an official memo by no less a person than the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, Kamal Siddiqui, asking PM's assistant personal secretary (APS) Shamsul Alam to explain as to how he managed to buy land with a house in Gulshan worth crores of taka and how he got the money for it. Till date no action has been taken on the memo of the Principal Secretary. Our information is that he is defying Siddiqui in the full knowledge of the PM. Quite a number of plots with houses were auctioned by Rajuk recently. The whole thing was done without due transparency and in violation of rules. Public impression is that many of these auctioned houses in Gulshan went to people in the PMO or connected with them. Even after repeated asking Rajuk is unable (read unwilling) to divulge names of who won those houses in auction, when and how the auction were conducted, how many people participated in them, at what price were they ultimately sold, etc. Given Ziaur Rahman's track record we can easily guess how he would have handled these incidents and compare that to how they actually were.