Govt asks officials, employees to keep ID cards visible inside Secretariat

The government has instructed all officials and employees working at the Secretariat to keep their identity cards visible at all times while entering and staying inside the premises to strengthen security.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued the directive yesterday (3 November), saying displaying identity cards was essential to reinforce security, control access and maintain overall discipline at the Secretariat.

It said different categories of visitors, including those attending meetings and entering through one-time passwords (OTPs), also visit the Secretariat, where Prime Minister Tarique Rahman now works every day.

Against this backdrop, displaying identity cards at all times has become particularly important to ensure internal security, the ministry said.

It urged all ministries and divisions to instruct their officials and employees to comply with the directive.

The latest instruction follows another order issued on 27 October to tighten control over visitors’ entry into the Secretariat.

Under the earlier directive, the authorities asked officials to keep meetings with offices outside the Secretariat to a minimum on Mondays and Thursdays when visitor entry is suspended.

It also said visitor entry time had been shifted from noon to 2pm and that OTPs should be issued accordingly. General visitors were not to be issued more than one OTP a week.

The earlier notice was aimed at ensuring security at the Secretariat and improving the monitoring and supervision of visitors.