The Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) has termed a recently published report of Al Jazeera titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ false and fabricated.
The ISPR on Monday night issued a statement to denounce the report.
“A recent report titled “All the Prime Minister’s Men”, broadcasted on 1 February 2021 by Al Jazeera, an international news channel, has drawn the attention of Headquarters, Bangladesh Army. The report of Al Jazeera, in the form of a documentary, consists of numerous false and fabricated stories in respect of the Government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Army, creating unnecessary confusion among the general mass,” it read.
“It is clear from the report that it has been intentionally prepared blending some untrue, fabricated, fictitious, speculative and unsupported information with some isolated incidents in order to discredit the Government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Army and the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army among the mass people of Bangladesh and the world,” it added.
It further said: The documentary that has been broadcasted has revealed much false information about the purchase of spyware by the Bangladesh Army from Israel and direct and indirect involvement of the brothers of the present chief of army staff in various procurement processes of the Bangladesh Army.
"Bangladesh started the process of procuring a Passive Signal Interceptor from Hungary in December 2017 following the standard Government procurement process, which was completed in June 2018. Although the equipment was procured in accordance with UN requirements, the UN later deployed a Tanzanian signal intelligence unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result, the signal equipment so procured is lying with Bangladesh Army, not in use till date and ready for deployment within a shortest possible time upon the requirement of UN. Note that the information provided by Al Jazeera that the signal device was made by Israel is not true at all and the name of Israel is not engraved anywhere in the device. It is to be noted that there is no scope of corruption since the procurement of all military equipment in Bangladesh Army is done under a specific and set policy and following a number of steps," the statement said.
The procurement process for this signal equipment began long before the current Chief of Army Staff, General Aziz Ahmed, took over his office, it added.
The statement mentioned that the real name of the person named Sami in the Al Jazeera report is ‘Samiul Ahmed Khan’, and his father is late Lt Col Abdul Basit Khan (Retd). Sami has previously been arrested by law enforcing agency and Military Police for theft, using uniform and forging credentials of army officers. He was declared unwanted (persona non grata) in all the cantonments of Bangladesh in 2006 for those criminalities.
A case was filed with the Ramna Model Thana on May 5, 2020, on the allegations of anti-state propaganda against this swindler, greedy and fraudulent Sami, which is currently under investigation, ISPR said in the statement.
The report shows that a documentary has been intentionally articulated with hypothetical, unacceptable and unproven information by adding some fragmentary pictures or scenes from different times. Almost the entire subject matter of the report is based on unsubstantiated hearsay and the informant has not been questioned or cross-examined by the affected parties, the statement read further.
