Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to justice over the Pilkhana carnage, stating in Dhaka that no new probe commission will be formed and that existing reform recommendations on the 2009 BDR carnage will be implemented in phases.
Speaking after laying wreaths at the Banani Military Graveyard in the capital on National Martyred Army Day, Home minister described the Pilkhana carnage as a calculated attempt to weaken the Bangladesh Army and destabilise the country’s constitutional and security framework.
“I am assuring the nation and the martyrs’ families of ensuring justice,” he said, emphasising that the government will complete the judicial process and strengthen institutional safeguards to prevent any recurrence.
Clarifying the administration’s position on calls for a fresh investigation into the 2009 BDR carnage, the home minister said the government will not constitute a new commission. Instead, it will implement the recommendations of the national independent commission formed by the immediate past interim government to review the incident.
“I made a remark earlier that we would form a commission to reinvestigate the BDR carnage without going through the report of the national independent commission formed during the interim government. Now I am correcting myself — we will not form any new commission. Rather, we will implement the recommendations of the commission in phases,” he said.
Salahuddin Ahmed stated that the commission submitted 70 recommendations, which the government plans to execute gradually as part of a structured policy and administrative reform process. He noted that several appeals related to the Pilkhana cases remain pending before the Appellate Division, adding, “The judicial process will be completed.”
Describing the killings as one of the most serious security crises in Bangladesh’s history, he said those responsible sought to undermine national sovereignty and institutional stability.
The Pilkhana carnage occurred on February 25–26, 2009, at the headquarters of the then Bangladesh Rifles in Pilkhana, Dhaka. During the 33-hour mutiny, 74 people were killed, including 57 army officers, the BDR director general and his wife, two other officers’ wives and 15 others.
Following the incident, the government enacted the Border Guard Bangladesh Act, 2010, restructuring Bangladesh Rifles into Border Guard Bangladesh and introducing reforms aimed at strengthening command authority, accountability mechanisms and national border security governance.
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