বাংলাদেশের পররাষ্ট্র প্রতিমন্ত্রী শামা ওবায়েদ ইসলাম نے.Asserted that human traffickers must be punished at any cost, and made this declaration during a visit to Laskariya gram in Fargun’s Nagarkanda upazila, the village where Lieutenant Colonel Titas Sheikh was killed.

The 28‑year‑old martyr, a lieutenant colonel of the Bangladesh Army, had been serving since his enlistment on 1 February 2017. He was deployed at the Rongikhali Army Camp in Teknaf and was leading an operation against human traffickers when he was shot dead on a hill in the early evening of 5 November. His body was taken to his family’s home in Laskariya and later laid to rest after funeral prayers at the local high school field on 6 November.

In her statement, the foreign minister emphasized that traffickers are “the enemy of the country and its people,” and pledged that the government would ensure they face the harshest possible penalties. She noted that the Ministry of Home and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are coordinating their efforts to dismantle trafficking networks, both domestically and abroad.

The minister also informed that, over the past 17 years, numerous drug‑related and smuggling activities linked to human trafficking have been identified. Successive governments, including the current one led by the Prime Minister, have introduced various measures to curb these activities, and the two ministries are working in tandem to strengthen the response.

As part of the recent initiative, she convened meetings with the district commissioners of 14 districts, including Fargun, Madaripur and Shariatpur, urging them to raise awareness about human trafficking at the grassroots level. She directed upazila nirbahi karokartars (UNOs) and local administration officials to intensify arrests of suspected traffickers and to cooperate with foreign ministries to repatriate Bangladeshi citizens who are missing or detained overseas.

Local officials present at the gathering included upazila nirbahi karokarta Rezwana Afrin, union councilor Rasul Samadani Ajiad, the victim’s maternal uncle, and Habibur Rahman Babul, chairman of the Laskariya Union Parishad.

While the minister’s declaration underscores a zero‑tolerance stance, the specific involvement of identified traffickers in Lieutenant Sheikh’s death remains subject to ongoing investigation.