For the last several years, a number of individuals sitting in foreign countries, including the US, Britain, Canada, and Sweden have been running cruel propaganda against Bangladesh and its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as well as several patriotic civil-military officers and citizen with the dangerous goal of tarnishing their image both within and outside of Bangladesh. But the man who has been diligently fighting such cyberterrorist activities is Major General Ziaul Ahsan. He currently heads ‘National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), a national-level intelligence agency in Bangladesh with the slogan – ‘Nation Comes First’.
As recently NTMC has further strengthened its capabilities by adding sophisticated equipment and surveillance gears, infamous cyberterrorists namely Tasneem Khalil, Shahid Uddin Khan (Interpol wanted convicted terror-funder currently living in the UK), Zulkarnain Saer Khan Sami, Tito Rahman, Nazmus Saquib, Hasina Akhter, Kanak Sarwar and others have started openly screaming on social media platforms stating NTMC is becoming increasingly active in tracking anti-Bangladesh elements and collecting required data, which is making their anti-Bangladesh activities extremely difficult. According to them, NTMC, under the leadership of Major General Ziaul Ahsan has assigned plenty of people to closely monitor the activities of the above-named cyber terrorists as well as their associates inside and outside of Bangladesh.
An effective NTMC continues to fight the enemies of Bangladesh
Under the dynamic and focused leadership of Major General Ziaul Ahsan, with the ‘Nation Comes First’ slogan, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) has been playing an important role by dedicatedly providing interception support to law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh through tireless round-the-clock duties. This organization has been playing a vital role in safeguarding national security since its inception.
In view of the massive increase in IT-related crimes due to the free flow of information worldwide, with the approval of Sheikh Hasina, the Honorable Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the NMC was renamed as “National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC)” on January 31, 2013. The agency started functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs as an independent organization from February 2014.
Despite various limitations due to the rapid advancement of global technology, NTMC is doing a strong and unprecedented job in protecting the law and order situation of the country through continuous 24/7 monitoring of all the media providing telecommunication services through the power of Article 97-A of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2006 (Amended) through the legal framework of the state.
It is to be noted that NTMC has always contributed to meeting the difficult situation of the past and providing assistance in any operational work by overcoming all constraints due to requisite manpower, equipment limitations, optimal utilization of limited resources, timely guidance, and able leadership from the highest level of government.
Each of the activities of NTMC involves one or more law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, and investigative agencies of the country. As a very important institution of the country, NTMC has already been able to create a strong position with the government and all concerned agencies regarding its capabilities and requirements.
NTMC is working tirelessly to establish a central platform with information technology at the national level and to speed up the operational activities of all types of communication media.
All law enforcement and intelligence agencies are already getting modern monitoring facilities related to Call Content, Voice, and Data through the monitoring system established since the establishment of NTMC for the purpose of criminal identification and communication media monitoring.
By collecting information from all types of social and web media, law enforcement and intelligence agencies are playing an effective role in identifying the real culprits spreading rumors on social media and bringing them under the law using NTMC’s technology. Moreover, nowadays, a class of unscrupulous individuals has been publishing various anti-government information through the free and misuse of the Internet: besides trying to spread it everywhere, they are also committing various criminal activities. Necessary activities are taken by NTMC to monitor the information published on the Internet.
In addition, NTMC has a self-contained Research and Development wing with archives to enhance the organization’s capabilities in keeping with the ever-changing information technology, which is working tirelessly to identify new and emerging risks.
Due to the advancement of information technology and the wide spread of the Internet, law enforcement and intelligence agencies face various problems in investigating Internet-based criminal activities. Considering the said problem, the current Director General Major General Ziaul Ahsan, SBP, BPM (Bar), and PPM (Bar) played a special role in increasing the capacity of NTMC in various fields through the purchase of modern technology equipment. He has been serving as Director since March 6, 2017, on the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Major General Ziaul Ahsan, a fearless patriot
Ziaul Ahsan was promoted from Brigadier General to Major General in July. On July 21, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Public Administration to appoint Ziaul Ahsan as Director General of NTMC through a notification.
Later, on 05 September 2022, Major General Ziaul Ahsan, SBP, BPM (Bar), PPM (Bar) was appointed as the Director General of NTMC by an order of the Mission-1 Division of the Ministry of Public Administration. This is the first time that of Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center or NTMC has been created.
The success of all the law enforcement forces of the country is related to the achievement of the capability of this important organization in the world of technology to achieve technological excellence for the purpose of counter-terrorism, and therefore the motto of ‘Nation Comes First’ or ‘Country Above All’ is inspired by the current Director General Major General Ziaul Ahsan. Under the leadership, NTMC is continuously working to protect the security of the country, which will be able to contribute more successfully in the future as well as in the present in order to ensure the security of the country and the people.
READ: Maj. Gen. Ziaul Ahsan heads NTMC of Bangladesh
Major General Ziaul Ahsan presented the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) as a leading role in the security of the country and its people. Dedication, concentration, honesty, courage, and hard work are the key ingredients of his career success. An insightful high-ranking army officer also has a keen eye for punctuality.
