DHAKA: The cabinet committee on law-and-order rejected the proposal of Human Rights Watch (HRW) to disband country’s elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

The decision came from a meeting held at Home Ministry on Monday.

After the meeting, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said the decision whether to disband RAB would not be influenced by the letter of any foreign organization as it is an internal affairs of Bangladesh.

Earlier, the HRW in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government should disband RAB was published on its website.

It claimed that RAB officers were responsible for the contract killings of seven men in April 2014, allegedly on behalf of a ruling party member, has provoked outrage in Bangladesh and is yet another example of how the unit has operated as a death squad.      

They also suggested that until it is disbanded, RAB should be made into an entirely civilian force by withdrawing all military officers and soldiers from its membership.

The RAB was formed in 2004 by the then BNP government. Over the last decade, successive governments led-by the BNP, the subsequent military-backed caretaker regime, and since 2009, the Awami League, have allowed the force to operate with impunity, leading to serious and systematic abuses.      

BDST: 1750 HRS, JUL 21, 2014