Repatriation of illegal immigrants: Govt to sign SOP with UK

The government is signing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with the United Kingdom (UK) for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal today.

Replying to a reporter's query if the SOP will be used to facilitate bringing back BNP's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who is living in the UK, the home minister said, "We will try our best."

Asaduzzaman Khan said this while talking with reporters after a meeting with the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Sarah Cook, at the secretariat.

He did not, however, provide any specific details on whether the matter of Tarique Rahman was discussed during the meeting.

The home minister mentioned that the British high commissioner visited the Home Ministry for the first time since taking office.

"Some of our illegal immigrants are in Britain. We have an SOP with the European Union on how to return those who are living there illegally. They (the UK) came out of the European Union, which is why they are talking about an SOP with them as well," he said.

Asaduzzaman Khan concluded by stating that both Bangladesh and the UK are looking to enhance cooperation. "They want to train our law enforcers in different sectors. We also told them that our police officers have received training from you before. We want to continue that," he added.