Bangladeshis must not be used as bait in foreign wars, parliament told: 54 killed in three years

Bangladeshis must not be used as bait on any foreign battlefield, reserved-seat member of parliament Rehana Akter told the National Parliament. She said it is the government's administrative and moral duty to ensure that no Bangladeshi citizen is used in a foreign war zone.

Rehana Akter, a member of the ruling party, made the remarks on Monday while speaking under Rule 71 of parliament, which draws attention to urgent matters of public importance. Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal presided over the session. She drew the attention of the Expatriates' Welfare Minister to the issue and sought necessary steps.

Rehana Akter said a group of Bangladeshis had travelled to Russia after taking high-interest loans and selling their homesteads, lured by false promises of confirmed jobs and a better life. But instead of the promised jobs, they were handed over to the Russian army. After training, they were sent to the Russia-Ukraine war.

She said 54 people have died in the last three years. Many have been maimed. The bodies of those killed on the battlefield have still not been handed over to their families. On one side is the grief of losing loved ones, and on the other, the constant pressure from lenders — together, the families' lives have become unbearable.

Citing media reports, the MP said human traffickers are now trapping people not only by posing as brokers but also by using modern technology such as AI deepfakes, social media and cryptocurrency.

She called on the Expatriates' Welfare Ministry, the Home Ministry and the Foreign Ministry to take joint technological and diplomatic steps to tackle the situation. She also demanded punishment for the traffickers, compensation for the victim families, and the swift return of Bangladeshis still in the war zone in Russia.

Sarwar Jamal Nizam, BNP member from Chattogram-12, urged that local MPs be taken along when ministers tour parliamentary constituencies. He said local people want the local MP to be present when ministers visit an area, and taking local MPs along on visits would increase people's trust in the party.

On the matter, Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal said he receives many such complaints. He said ministers often do not take local MPs along when they visit different areas. Whether the MP belongs to the government or the opposition, he believes local MPs should be taken along.

Nilufar Chowdhury, a reserved-seat MP, expressed concern over pollution in the Dhanmondi, Crescent, Gulshan and Banani lakes of the capital. She said these lakes were once called the lungs of the city and played an important role in reducing air pollution in the metropolis. But now they have become sources of pollution.

Nilufar Chowdhury said pollution has become so severe that the lakes' biodiversity is being destroyed, fish are dying and floating up, and nearby trees and animals are suffering. Mosquitoes are breeding in the polluted water. People living beside the lakes face health risks, and even those who come for morning and evening walks breathe unhealthy air. Residential waste and, in places, factory waste are being dumped into the lakes, and factory owners are ignoring instructions to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs). She stressed implementing WASA's master plan and giving the relevant authorities the necessary powers to solve these problems.

Anisur Rahman, MP from Madaripur-3, demanded that tenders for road repairs be invited within December and January. He said heavy rain has damaged many usable roads in his constituency, and there has been slowness in allocating funds and inviting tenders for their repair. So far, tenders have been invited for only three roads.

Md Abul Kalam, MP from Cumilla-9, demanded a 60,000-crore-taka incentive package or easy low-interest loans to restart closed factories and raise production at running ones. He said the Finance Ministry has instructed Bangladesh Bank on releasing the money, and several meetings have been held among Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks and entrepreneurs, but the loan money has still not been released. He alleged that commercial banks are not releasing the funds on various pretexts.

S K Azizul Bari, MP from Khulna-4, proposed a coordinated initiative to prevent dengue, urging greater focus on destroying larvae alongside insecticides and fogging to kill mosquitoes. Destroying larvae where mosquitoes lay eggs can prevent dengue, he said, calling on the government to adopt a prevention-centred plan rather than a treatment-centred one.

Md Fazlur Rahman (Saeed), MP from Joypurhat-1, alleged discrimination and partisanship in allocations for building, renovating and repairing educational institutions. He said that although MPs submit DO letters in line with the circular, there has been little response so far. In some areas, ruling-party leaders and activists visit educational institutions and say that nothing will happen through opposition MPs' DO letters and that people must contact them instead.

Md Mobashwer Alam Bhuiyan, MP from Cumilla-10, demanded accountability in government hospitals across the country. He said the state of healthcare in government hospitals, from cities to villages, is disappointing — in some places there is a hospital but no doctor, and in others there is a doctor but no medicine. Citing Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) data, he said 6.13 million people fall below the poverty line every year because of treatment costs. About 58 percent of people borrow to pay for treatment, and nearly 30 million people do not seek treatment because they cannot afford it.