National Security Intelligence
The National Security Intelligence, commonly known as the NSI, is a principal civilian intelligence agency of Bangladesh. It serves as the government’s lead organization for internal security, counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, and foreign intelligence operations, providing strategic analysis and intelligence support for national security decision-making. As the largest intelligence agency in the country, the NSI operates under the direct authority of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and it's forms part of the Bangladesh Intelligence Community.
It is an independent civilian intelligence agency. Today, its internal security functions are similar to the British security service MI5, while the foreign intelligence function does not quite resemble the MI6. The NSI also has territorial units in all 64 districts of Bangladesh, headed by a joint director/deputy director.
Being the only independent civilian intelligence agency in Bangladesh, the NSI's principal activities are gathering information about foreign governments, individuals, corporations, political parties, and different religious groups; counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, political intelligence, and giving protection to the VIPs and VVIPs are among its major functions.
Organization
- National Security Intelligence is headed by a director general, who is a Secretary of Bangladesh Government or two-star military officer from Bangladesh Army. The key posts of this organization are director, additional director, joint director, deputy director, and assistant director. Some other posts are computer engineer, telephone engineer, and research officer. Some directorates of NSI are Internal, Dhaka Wing, Border, External, Security, Media Wing, Training, Political, Eco-Security, Administration, Research, Counter-Terrorism Cell, and Intelligence.
- The force is mostly staffed by civil personnel. Officers are recruited by the Prime Minister's Office, Class-1 officers directly recruited by the agency start with the post of assistant director.
- Officers are also seconded from Bangladesh Police, Armed Forces of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Ansar.
List of directors general
- Mohammad Mesbahuddin
- A. B. S. Safdar
- Brigadier General Ashraf
- Brigadier General A. J. M. Aminul Haque, Bir Uttom
- Major General Golam Kader
- Major General Mustafizur Rahman
- Colonel Mohammad Wahidul Haque
- Kazi Moshiur Rahman
- Major General Abdur Rahim
- Major General Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury
- Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam
- Brigadier General M Manzur Ahmed
- Major General Shamsul Haque
- Major General T. M. Jobaer
- Major General Mohammed Hossain Al Morshed
- Major General Abu Mohammad Sarwar Farid
Duties
- Gathering information by any or all means about foreign governments, organizations, individuals, and politicians; monitoring Bangladeshi government officials, political parties, politicians, extremist groups, separatists, religious bodies, unions, popular movements, NGOs, and any other group or person who might be relevant to national security;
- Analysing that information, along with intelligence gathered by other Bangladesh intelligence agencies, to provide intelligence assessments to the PM and the National Committee for Intelligence Coordination
- Upon executive orders carrying out or overseeing covert activities overseas, by its own employees, by members of the military, or by other partner forces.
Notable foreign operations
- On 11 February 2022, Lt. Col. Sufiul Anam, a Bangladeshi individual employed by the United Nations, was abducted from Yemen's Mudiah province by members of Al-Qaeda. A ransom of $3 million was demanded for his release. After 18 months in captivity, he was successfully rescued by the National Security Intelligence.
- In 2004, NSI operated a hit-to-kill mission against Indian narcotics smugglers, who were accused of being linked with Indian R&AW. The objective was to make it easier to get narcotics for the Bangladeshi youths. Targeted cities were Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Agartala, from where most of the operatives work to smuggle drugs, especially phensedyl, inside Bangladesh.
Controversies
Human rights abuses
According to Human Rights Watch's May 2009 issue, during the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis in Bangladesh, the NSI was actively involved in harassment and arbitrary arrest of labor activists.Killing of labour activists
NSI's name had appeared several times during the trial of the mysterious murder of labor rights activist Aminul Islam in April 2012. The only convict, Aminul's friend Mostafijur Rahman, was found to be a mystery man, about whom no one knew much, who apparently had a cover job at an EPZ clinic and regularly met with security officers, is believed to be linked with NSI, though the court has not asked the agency for clarification and nor did the prosecution try to bring them, media has speculated on such controversies, though denied by the agency.In fiction
- In the web TV series Contract , Arifin Shuvoo played the character of Bastard, a fictional codename of a retired NSI agent and hitman who was given the last task to hunt down an underworld drug lord named ''Black Ranju''