Ishraque asked to resign from cabinet

Liberation War Affairs State Minister Ishraque Hossain has been asked to resign from the cabinet following controversy over his participation in an anti-drug drive while carrying a firearm, several senior government officials said.
The officials said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman summoned Ishraque after a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday afternoon and instructed him to resign.
However, no official statement was available as of 10:20pm on Sunday.
Ishraque told reporters that the report was untrue and based on rumours.
Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam said an investigation was under way to determine whether any laws had been violated when Ishraque publicly displayed a firearm during an anti-drug drive.
Speaking to journalists at the DMP Media Centre in the capital, Shafiqul said the DMP would take legal action if any violation was established.
Shafiqul, who also heads the DMP’s Detective Branch (DB), said the deputy commissioner of the Wari Division had been assigned to investigate the incident and submit a report.
Asked whether a minister could perform police duties, he declined to comment.
Meanwhile, in a separate Facebook post at around 8:15pm on Sunday, Ishraque said he would use “bamboo sticks” to demolish drug dens in future drives, amid criticism over his brandishing of a firearm during Saturday’s operation in Gendaria.
Ishraque also issued a statement on Sunday afternoon seeking to justify his actions amid widespread criticism online.
The Dhaka-6 MP said he had visited the area as part of an anti-drug social resistance campaign involving law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens.
The son of former Dhaka mayor and freedom fighter Sadeque Hossain Khoka said he had carried a licensed firearm in self-defence after receiving information from law enforcement personnel and his own intelligence sources that drug dealers might open fire on them from nearby rooftops.
During the drive, 30 to 35 people from a makeshift drug den approached their motorcade aggressively, he claimed.
“Under these circumstances, fearing an imminent attack and to ensure the safety of life and property, I and my government security personnel got out of the vehicle and raised our firearms in self-defence for a very brief period,” the statement said.
He said the firearms were returned to their proper places once the potential threat had passed.
Ishraque said Gendaria Police Station had been informed upon their arrival at the scene and that joint raids had been conducted at suspected hideouts with police assistance.
Four to five illegal makeshift drug dens were dismantled during the operation, he said. The team also seized drugs, weapons, cash from drug sales and mobile phones allegedly stolen in snatchings. Six suspected drug dealers were detained and handed over to police, he added.
Criticising media coverage, Ishraque alleHe also said he had met senior law enforcement officials in June after three civilians were shot in a drug-related incident.