Bangladesh is in touch with the Myanmar rebel groups as well as the country's ruling junta, said Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

He said this in response to a question from reporters after visiting the Teknaf border area of Cox's Bazar on Monday (December 30) afternoon.

The Home Affairs Adviser said that Arakan State, which borders Bangladesh, is now under the control of rebel groups. Therefore, Bangladesh is in touch with the country's rebel group Arakan Army as well as the ruling junta.

At the time, he said that no decision has been made yet on the registration of those who have newly infiltrated from Myanmar because no policy decision has been made on providing them shelter.

He also said that the Bangladesh border is completely under the control of the BGB. Locals have been requested not to be afraid. However, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury claimed that some brokers are cooperating in the infiltration of Rohingya.

Regarding drugs, the Home Affairs Adviser said, this area is famous for drugs. Badi (former MP) is also famous for drugs in the whole of Bangladesh. This is not a current problem, it is a long-standing problem which is a problem for the whole country. Everyone's cooperation is needed to eradicate drugs. The law enforcement agencies alone cannot eradicate it.

Earlier, the Home Affairs Adviser reached Teknaf from Dhaka by helicopter. Later, he held a meeting with the officers of the 2nd BGB battalion. Then he visited some border points in Teknaf. He was accompanied by BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui. 

The Election Commission (EC) will start the door-to-door voter list update process from January 20. Responsible EC officials confirmed the matter on Monday (December 30).

Senior EC officials said that even during the ongoing update process, information for one year in advance can be collected door-to-door, which has not been done in the last two years. Currently, the training of trainers is underway, which will end on January 5. After that, they will train the data collectors. After these processes, the EC will go door-to-door from January 20.

Only those who will turn 18 on January 1, 2026, will have their information collected.

When asked about this, EC Additional Secretary KM Ali Newaz said, after publishing the draft voter list on January 2 next year, we will make it open for the public to see. The public will get the opportunity to see it. If anyone is left out, a system will be made for resolving their claims and objections. After resolving the claims and objections, they will be included in the final voter list that will be published on March 2. We do this every year. We will consider this as the 24th update and 25th voter list.

Stating that we will go door to door to update the voter list by collecting information one year in advance, he said, "If anyone is left out of the list, we will also go door to door to update the voter list one year in advance. We will not only collect information for 25th. At the same time, we will also collect information of those who will turn 18 on January 1st, 26th. We will include them in the 2026 voter list. However, they will not be considered voters in any election in 25th."

Calling on all citizens, he said, "When the information collectors go door to door, they will provide them with accurate information to help them become new voters and will also provide information about deceased voters."

About 200 rooms on four floors of the Secretariat building number 7, the heart of administration in Bangladesh, have been damaged, said Sub- Assistant Engineer of Public Works Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan.

He gave this information while talking to reporters at the Secretariat on Monday (December 30). However, he said that the cause of the fire will be known after the investigation.

He said, "We, the Public Works people, arrived as soon as the fire broke out on December 25, we did not delay much. We have extended maximum cooperation to the Fire Service on behalf of the Public Works Department."

The Sub- Assistant Engineer said, there are about six ministries in the building. There are 40 to 50 rooms on each floor. Four floors have been damaged. Some are completely damaged, some are partially damaged.

Regarding whether the building will be usable, he said, many teams have investigated at the high level so far. The next activities will be carried out according to the opinion of the expert team. However, initially it seems that the building can be repaired. The rest will be understood after receiving the investigation report.

Meanwhile, in a press briefing in front of the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday (December 29), Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar said that the initial report of the high-level investigation committee formed into the fire incident in the secretariat will be submitted to the Chief Adviser today, Monday.

He said that as part of the investigation, the committee has collected necessary evidence. Some of this evidence has been tested in the country. If they deem it necessary, they said that some evidence can be sent outside the country for testing.

A fire broke out in the Bangladesh Secretariat in Building No. 7 late on the night of December 25. The fire destroyed the documents of the Road Transport and Highways Division of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges; two divisions of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; the Post and Telecommunication Division of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Computers and furniture were burnt to ashes. There was also major damage to the walls and floors. The damaged floors of the building are currently unusable. For this reason, the ministries are temporarily setting up alternative offices.

An emergency meeting was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government, regarding the fire incident. At that meeting, a high-level committee headed by the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs was formed to investigate the incident. The head of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department has been made the member secretary of the committee. The committee has been asked to submit a preliminary report within three days.

United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) leader Michael Chakma has filed a complaint with the International Crimes Tribunal against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 9 others on charges of enforced disappearance.

He has also submitted the towel with which Michael Chakma was restrained during the disappearance along with the complaint.

He filed the complaint at the Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor's Office on Monday (December 30), said Prosecutor Abdullah Al Noman.

The towel with which Michael Chakma was restrained during the disappearance was also submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal's prosecution today.

Describing the ‘Aina Ghar’ where he was kept in the complaint, Michael Chakma said that he was abducted for five years and four months. The UPDF blockaded the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Khagrachari in 2013. Sheikh Hasina threatened to take action against the besiegers in this incident.

In addition, he faced various questions after being disappeared for opposing the peace agreement. He fears that he was disappeared in these incidents. Michael Chakma was missing from April 9, 2019 to August 7, 2024.