HC seeks list of legal, illegal foreign workers in Bangladesh

High Court

The High Court today wanted to know how many legal and illegal foreign people are working in Bangladesh.

In response to a writ petition, the court asked the authorities concerned of the government to submit a list of them before the apex court.

The High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon passed the order following a writ petition filed by four Bangladeshi educated job seekers praying for necessary directives.

Petitioners' lawyer M Sarwar Hossain told the media that after the High Court releases the full-text order, it will be known who and when will submit the report in this regard.

The court sources said the High Court bench asked the IGP to submit the list before it within a month.

He said his clients- Mir Muahtasim Islam, Nowshin Nawar Noorjahan, Mumtahina Alam and Mayesha Munaowara are highly educated but unemployed citizens of Bangladesh.

They have been roaming around in different private sectors for employment over the years and during their hurdle journey they experienced that the job market in Bangladesh is either filed up with the foreigners in general and the citizens of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and China in particular, the lawyer said.

The writ petitioners have also experienced that most of the foreign employees here in Bangladesh are working without having any legal permission, he said.

Lawyer Sarwar also said more than 10 lakh illegal foreigners are taking away 10.2 billion US dollars abroad from Bangladesh every year.

As a result, Bangladeshi citizens are being deprived of the right to get employment according to their qualifications.

It may be remembered that according to Article 29 of the Constitution, the right to get employment based on merit is considered aa a fundamental right, and according to Article 19, every citizen of Bangladesh has a constitutional right to get equal rights, the lawyer added.

Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy and Assistant Attorney General Selim Azad represented the state during the hearing. - Special Correspondent