People, not advisers, need safe exit from broken state: Asif Nazrul

Staff Reporter :

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul said yesterday that members of the interim government do not require a “safe exit,” rejecting growing speculation on the issue and instead urging national focus on escaping what he described as the “destructive state structure” left behind by the previous authoritarian regime.

“As you know, there is much talk these days about a ‘safe exit.’ But we, the advisers, are absolutely certain that none of us require any such exit,” Asif Nazrul said. “Rather, it is the people of this country who, as a nation, need a safe exit from the destructive state structure left behind by the previous fascist regime.”

He made the remarks while speaking at a national consultation on the draft National Human Rights Commission Ordinance, 2025, held at the InterContinental Hotel ballroom in Dhaka.
Reflecting on what he called “15 years of misrule,” Asif Nazrul spoke of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and large-scale corruption in the banking sector. “It was a fearful and self-destructive state structure,” he said, “and the nation must now find its way out of it.”

Turning to judicial independence, the law adviser cited the 1972 Constitution, which he said envisioned that the President would appoint judges free from political influence. “But everyone knows that the President has never been able to exercise that independence,” he noted. “In practice, judicial appointments have always reflected the will of the Prime Minister.”

He alleged that some former Chief Justices had “led human rights violations and played a key role in undermining Bangladesh’s electoral system and democracy.” These individuals, he added, “ignored enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings they witnessed firsthand,” yet have faced no consequences.

“Some of them still remain in the judiciary,” Asif Nazrul said. “We have made some progress in institutional reform, but we have not completed it. The responsibility now rests with the next elected government.”

He cautioned that enacting progressive laws alone was not enough to rebuild the nation. “We may be passing good laws, but enacting good laws alone does not mean the entire country will be transformed,” he said. “While we have no history of failure in making law, our failures in institution-building have been limitless.”

Calling institutional reform a continuous process, the adviser expressed hope that the forthcoming human rights ordinance would help build a truly independent and effective National Human Rights Commission. “To escape this terrible state structure, we must strengthen key institutions – the High Court and the Parliamentary Committee in particular – along with the Human Rights Commission,” he said.
“If we fail to do this, any person in the country could become a victim of grave human rights violations at any time.”
Asif Nazrul stressed that protecting human rights was a collective duty, not just a government responsibility. “This is not only the responsibility of the government or any single individual, but of all of us,” he said, expressing optimism that the revised law would enhance the Commission’s efficiency and independence.
Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser SyedaRizwana Hasan, Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division Secretary Dr. Hafiz Ahmed Chowdhury, Swiss Ambassador Reto Siegfried Renggli, Danish Deputy Head of Mission Anders B. Carlsen, and UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller also spoke at the event.
The discussion was moderated by RomanaSchweiger, Law, Justice and Security Adviser at UNDP Bangladesh, and attended by senior ministry and commission officials, university academics, human rights advocates, and Supreme Court lawyers.