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National Security Intelligence

department · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
Abu Mohammad Sarwar Farid
Role
Director General
Annual budget
—
Staff
—
Established
1972
Legal basis
Established by cabinet decision in December 1972 under Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. No dedicated statutory act; operates under executive authority of the Prime Minister's Office. The 1974 Special Powers Act provides ancillary legal cover for detention-related functions. As of May 2026, no intelligence-specific legislation has been enacted despite post-July 2024 reform advocacy.

NSI remains under direct PMO authority with Maj Gen Sarwar Farid (army officer on deputation) as DG since August 2024; implicated by the January 2026 enforced disappearances commission report, no senior NSI official has been prosecuted as of May 2026; no statutory intelligence act has been passed despite sustained reform advocacy from HRW, Amnesty, and domestic editorials; PM Tarique Rahman met the DG in February 2026 and has pledged a National Security Council but no enabling legislation has followed; budget and staffing remain classified.

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

Established December 1972 by cabinet decision, no statutory act. NSI has always reported directly to the PMO and its DG has traditionally been a serving military officer on deputation -- a structural anomaly flagged by reform advocates as blurring civilian-military accountability lines. DG Sarwar Farid (Maj Gen, Bangladesh Army) was appointed August 13, 2024, days after Sheikh Hasina's fall, replacing Maj Gen Md Hossein Al Morshed who had held the post for only four months. Separately, a lower-level 'Director' post exists within NSI distinct from the DG: Brig Gen ABM Faisal Baten was appointed Director on December 31, 2024 (gazette notification). The January 5, 2026 Commission of Inquiry final report explicitly implicated NSI in enforced disappearances -- the most significant accountability finding against the agency in its history. No prosecutions of NSI personnel have followed as of May 2026. The UK visit (April 28 - May 1, 2025) with MI6-linked counterparts and the PM meeting (February 19, 2026) are cross-verified across multiple independent outlets. Budget and staff count are classified; NSI is not individually itemised in public MoF budget documents. The 'current_head' reflects the DG role (Sarwar Farid, since August 13, 2024); Faisal Baten's December 2024 appointment is a subordinate director post and is captured in key_circulars. website nsi.gov.bd resolves to nsi.portal.gov.bd (shadow panel / load balancer) with minimal public content.

Sources