Khalilur Rahman’s Appointment: Turning Point or More of the Same?

The Rohingya as a National Security Problem

This is my latest op-ed for Dhaka Tribune, reflecting on the appointment of Khalilur Rahman, already the government’s point person on Rohingya affairs, as Bangladesh’s new National Security Advisor.

This appointment as both National Security Advisor and High Representative on Rohingya issues shows just how far Bangladesh has shifted its approach. For years, refugee policy was scattered across different ministries. Now it’s been pulled into the centre of state security. That tells us a lot about what the government sees when it looks at the Rohingya.

To be fair, this move may also reflect a changing reality across the border. The Arakan Army now controls large parts of northern Rakhine and has signalled interest in political dialogue, including on the Rohingya issue. Bangladesh has so far failed to engage with the new power dynamics in Myanmar. This appointment might be an attempt to finally reposition itself diplomatically, open backchannels, and regain leverage in a region where India and China are already recalibrating.

But there’s a risk that the old habits of control will simply harden under a new title. In recent months, Bangladesh has tolerated armed groups recruiting in the camps and empowered actors with ties to the Myanmar military. The fear is that the securitised logic - managing the Rohingya as a surplus population through containment and proxies - will deepen.

And in the meantime, an entire generation remains trapped behind barbed wire fences, without rights, without movement, and without a future.

Read the OpED here.

I should add that Khalilur Rahman delivered an interesting speech in Camp 1 today. I will post a note about it soon.