UK ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka
The ban has
also put Bangladesh in a negative light as far as management of security at the country�s vital airport is concerned
It is disconcerting news that the United Kingdom has slapped a ban on cargo transportation on direct flights from Dhakas Shahjalal International Airport to that country. As reason for this decision, the UK has pointed out that Bangladesh has fallen short of meeting some international aviation security requirements. From the business point of view this ban means certain difficulty of Bangladeshs export to UK because the cargo transportation could be carried via airports of other nations.
But even more than this difficulty, the ban has also put Bangladesh in a negative light before the world as far as management of security at the countrys very important airport is concerned. However, this is not the first time Bangladesh faced such a ban: Australia in December 2015 slapped a similar restriction.
Before taking decision on ban, the UK should have informed the Bangladesh government about the lacking in security in Dhaka airport and authorities here could have complied according to the international requirements. For a long time, since the ISIS caught the international focus, as a Muslim-majority country Bangladesh has been facing the complaint that this terrorist group is in operation in the country which Bangladesh government has consistently denied.
Whenever an act of killing, particularly of foreign nationals, occurred in Bangladesh, it was thought of that ISIS was behind the killing as the group claimed responsibility of these attacks. US and other European countries sent travel alert to their respective citizens on several occasions in the past. However, ban on direct cargo flights or travel alert is an uneasy development for Bangladesh which the country just cannot ignore.
Decision of imposing the recent ban is certainly the UKs internal affair and Bangladesh must face the difficulty until the UK lifts the ban; but the crucially important matter that the Bangladesh government must acknowledge is that the country as a whole is facing an increasing threat of terrorism and accordingly it has to take up adequate security measures to combat this threat.
Whether ISIS as an organised group exists in Bangladesh may be a question of debate because manifestations of militancy per se are still to surface here; but the potential of such militancy is always there and the government has to brace up beforehand to counter this. However, in raising standards of aviation security at Dhaka airport, Bangladesh can positively take help from the UK government so that it soon lifts the ban on direct cargo flights.
