In a significant austerity move, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has withdrawn official police escort vehicles for 18 cabinet ministers during their movements within the capital. The decision will be effective immediately and designed to conserve fuel, address an acute shortage of police logistics and help ease Dhaka's severe traffic congestion.
According to Home Ministry and DMP sources, the initiative has freed up nearly 90 police officers and numerous vehicles. These resources are already being redeployed to routine policing and urgent public security duties across the city. Previously a standard ministerial escort required a five-member police team and a dedicated pickup van.
Key Changes to Protocol
Escorts Withdrawn: 18 cabinet ministers will no longer receive DMP vehicle escorts while commuting within Dhaka.
Resources Freed: The number of officers assigned to ministerial escort duties has dropped from approximately 120 to 35 while dedicated escort vehicles have been reduced from 25 to 7.
Tours Outside Dhaka: All ministers will continue to receive necessary police protection, gunmen and residential guards during official tours outside the capital as per existing rules.
Who Retains the Facility?
Movement escorts within Dhaka have been restricted to 14 key state officials based on strict operational necessity.
Parliamentary Office-Holders: Seven officials including the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition.
Key Cabinet Members: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood Tuku, Planning Adviser Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir and other strictly designated key personnel.
Driven by Austerity
The government-wide directive was heavily influenced by the Prime Minister’s decision to scale back his own security detail. He recently reduced his movement escort from four vehicles to two, dispensing with traditional police protocol vehicles in favor of a smaller motorcycle pilot escort and the Special Security Force (SSF). Following his example several ministers voluntarily requested the withdrawal of their escorts.
Mohammad Shahriar Alam, Deputy Commissioner of the DMP's Protection Division confirmed the execution of the directive. "This measure significantly reduces the pressure on DMP's vehicles and manpower also allowing us to utilize these essential resources for other urgent protection duties," he stated.
While standard VIP security such as residential guards and personal gunmen remains intact for individuals with gazetted VIP status (including former Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus), this reduction in official motorcades is expected to provide much-needed relief to ordinary citizens navigating the capital's daily gridlock.
