153 armed forces members, 24 police personnel sacrificed lives in global peacekeeping missions

Dhaka, Bangladesh || Thursday, 12 November 2026 || 27 Kartik 1433

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153 armed forces members, 24 police personnel sacrificed lives in global peacekeeping missions

Published : Thursday, 12 November, 2026 at 11:41 AM, Count : 31

153 armed forces members, 24 police personnel sacrificed lives in global peacekeeping missions

A total of 153 members of Bangladesh's armed forces and 24 police personnel have lost their lives while serving in support of global peace, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed informed Parliament on Wednesday.

He disclosed the figures in response to a question from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami MP Abdul Gafur during the question-and-answer session.

In reply to a question from National Citizen Party MP Atiqur Rahman Mujahid, the minister outlined the government's initiatives to develop, expand and modernise the Bangladesh Army.

He said the government was implementing various well-planned and timely programmes to strengthen the army's capabilities and modernise its equipment.

As part of these efforts, initiatives were underway to procure advanced military equipment through government-to-government arrangements with technologically developed countries, including the United States, Russia, China, Türkiye and Pakistan.

Salahuddin also said the armed forces were involved in manufacturing different types of military equipment. The government was accelerating technology transfer agreements with reputed foreign companies to facilitate the domestic production of modern weapons.

He added that an initiative had been taken to establish a second Bangladesh Ordnance Factory in Chattogram, with the aim of making the country's defence industry self-reliant and export-oriented in the future.

Agricultural khas land distribution

Responding to a question from Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, Land Minister Mizanur Rahman Minu said 494,869 families had received allocations of 122,544.307 acres of agricultural khas land between the 2011-12 and 2025-26 fiscal years.

In response to BNP MP Selina Sultana, he said Bangladesh had 1,825,207.74 acres of agricultural khas land, of which 1,328,445.2745 acres were available for distribution.

During the 2025-26 fiscal year, 190.01 acres of agricultural khas land were eligible for allocation, while 1,882 landless families received such land.

The minister further said the country had 2,104,375.9109 acres of non-agricultural khas land, with 112,723 acres available for allocation.

Agricultural research and seed storage

In reply to another question from Moni, Agriculture Minister Md Aminur Rashid said the country had 3,529 agricultural seed stores, of which 3,296 remained unused.

Responding to BNP MP Lutfur Rahman Kajal, he said researchers working under the National Agricultural Research System had developed more than 1,193 high-yielding and stress-tolerant crop varieties, alongside 1,775 modern agricultural technologies, to ensure food and nutrition security.

Plans for new international airport

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat informed Parliament that the government planned to construct a new international airport with multiple runways in the vicinity of Dhaka.

Responding to a question from Bogura-4 MP Md Mosharraf Hossain, he said the initiative was aimed at meeting future growth in passenger and cargo traffic and establishing Bangladesh as an international aviation hub.

In response to another question from Kajal, the minister said Biman Bangladesh Airlines currently had 19 aircraft in its fleet.

He added that agreements had already been signed for the purchase of 35 aircraft, including 25 from Boeing and 10 from Airbus.

The Boeing aircraft are scheduled to join Biman's fleet between 2031 and 2035, while the Airbus aircraft are expected to be delivered between 2033 and 2035.

Over 217,000 acres of forest land under illegal occupation

Forest and Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo informed Parliament that approximately 217,000 acres of government forest land were under illegal occupation.

Responding to a question from reserved-seat Jamaat MP Nazmun Nahar, he outlined the government's plans to recover the occupied land.

In reply to a separate question from reserved-seat MP Mahabuba Hakim, the minister said 88,215 individuals and commercial entities were involved in the illegal occupation of forest land.

He added that joint eviction drives were being conducted to recover the occupied areas.

Over Tk 4,251 crore allocated to Climate Change Trust Fund

Responding to a question from BNP MP Kamruzzaman Kamrul, Mintoo said the government had allocated Tk 42,51,71,94,700 from its revenue budget to the Climate Change Trust Fund over 18 fiscal years, from 2009-10 to 2026-27, to address climate-related risks.

In response to a question from BNP MP Helen Jerin Khan, the minister said government statistics showed that forest land accounted for 15.58 per cent of the country's total area.

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