The Bangladesh government has established a high-powered national committee chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at accelerating the safe, sustainable and dignified repatriation of more than one million Rohingya refugees sheltered in the country's southeastern camps.

The 11-member National Committee for Formulating a National Strategy on the Rohingya Issue was announced through a Cabinet Division notification issued on Sunday, marking a renewed institutional effort to streamline policymaking and strengthen coordination among ministries, security agencies and intelligence bodies dealing with the protracted refugee crisis.

The committee has been tasked with setting national priorities for Rohingya repatriation, improving coordination among relevant government institutions and defining the responsibilities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies involved in Rohingya-related operations. According to BSS, the initiative also seeks to ensure a more unified state response as Bangladesh continues diplomatic efforts to facilitate the refugees' voluntary return to Myanmar.

Besides the prime minister, the committee comprises the ministers for home affairs and foreign affairs, the advisers to the ministries of finance and planning and defence, along with the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, who will serve as the committee's Chief Coordinator. The Director General of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) has been appointed Member Secretary.

Other members include the Inspector General of Police, the directors general of the National Security Intelligence (NSI), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh Coast Guard, reflecting the government's emphasis on closer civil-military coordination in managing one of South Asia's most complex humanitarian and security challenges.

To support the committee's work, the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) and five senior officials, including the Additional Inspector General of Police (Special Branch), have been designated as assisting members.

A special taskforce will be constituted under the direct supervision of the Chief Coordinator to prepare a national strategy for the speedy and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas. The taskforce has been given 90 days to submit its recommendations to the national committee.

The Cabinet Division said the DGFI will provide administrative, logistical and secretarial support to the committee. It also noted that the committee may, if necessary, assign those responsibilities to another intelligence or law enforcement agency or co-opt the heads of military or civilian institutions and other experts for a specified period.

Bangladesh has repeatedly maintained that the long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of the refugees to Myanmar. The formation of the new national committee comes as Dhaka continues to push for stronger regional and international engagement to revive the stalled repatriation process amid Myanmar's prolonged political instability and armed conflict.

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