By Asma Parvin :

The Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed all officials and employees working at the Bangladesh Secretariat to keep their entry cards (ID cards) visibly displayed at all times while entering and staying on the premises.

The directive was issued in a letter signed by Kazi Arifur Rahman, Deputy Secretary of the Secretariat Security Branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs, on Tuesday night.

The letter stated that displaying ID cards is essential to strengthening internal security, regulating access and maintaining overall discipline within the Secretariat.

It noted that the Secretariat receives permanent and temporary employees, meeting attendees and authorized visitors through one-time passwords (OTPs).

With the Prime Minister now working from the Secretariat every day, ensuring internal security has become particularly important.

The ministry has asked all ministries and divisions to instruct their respective officials and employees to comply with the directive.

Earlier, on October 27, the authorities issued a separate set of instructions to regulate visitor access to the Secretariat.

Under those measures, meetings with officials from outside offices are to be kept to a minimum on Mondays and Thursdays, when visitor entry is suspended.

The designated visitor entry time was also shifted from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, with OTPs to be issued accordingly.

The instructions further restricted general visitors to one OTP per week and suspended OTP issuance for officials during their leave periods.