Staff Reporter:
Home Adviser Lt. Gen. (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury yesterday said e-passport will be available for all by the end of this year.
“We will ensure e-passport for all by December 31 this year. There will be no MRP (machine read-able passport) passport,” he said while talking to journalists after visiting the Department of Immi-gration and Passports in the city’s Agargaon.
Replying to a question, whether the passports will be issued without police verification, he said, “We will not confirm the issue now. We’re considering issuing the passports on the basis of the identity cards.” He mentioned that there are allegations that Rohingyas are getting Bangladeshi passports.
He said the government would issue passports without police verification, if the Police Reform Commission (PRC) recommends so.
The home adviser asked the Department of Immigration and Passports to make it free from corrup-tion and harassment as it is a service-oriented organization.
He mentioned that the corruption has decreased manifolds after taking charge by the new DG (di-rector general) of the department and he is trying to make it free from corruption.
About the government decision of taking legal action against the illegal foreigners working in Bangladesh, Jahangir said the foreigners, who are working in Bangladesh illegally, have to obtain visa and legal documents by January 31.
“If the foreigners fail to comply with the government order, legal action will be taken against them,” he said.
