Bangladesh, Khagrachhari | March 18, 2026: On March 16, 2026, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed was appointed Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He is reportedly from Ramgarh in Khagrachhari. But in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, this is not seen as change. It is being read as part of a continuing pattern.

 

This is not a minor position. As an Additional Inspector General and head of CID, he now holds one of the most powerful investigative roles in the country, with direct influence over how serious cases are handled and how justice is delivered.

 

The situation in the hills is not improving. Indigenous people are still facing land loss, weak protection, and a system they do not trust. The promises of the CHT Accord remain incomplete, and for many, hope is no longer growing—it is fading.

 

The Chittagong Hill Tracts has a long and difficult history of land conflict, settlement, and tension between Indigenous communities and Bengali settlers. This reality has shaped how people see the state. Trust is not automatic here, because past experience has shown that institutions often fail to protect Indigenous rights.

 

For years, decisions about the hills have come from outside. The results are visible. Land disputes remain unresolved, complaints rarely lead to justice, and many communities feel that their voices do not matter. Because of this, people do not judge power by who is appointed. They judge it by what actually changes.

 

In this context, appointing someone from Khagrachhari does not automatically build confidence. The problem is not only the individual. The problem is the system that continues to operate in the same way, regardless of who holds the position.

 

People in the hills are asking direct questions. They want to know whether land disputes will finally be resolved fairly, whether cases will be handled without bias, and whether Indigenous communities will feel protected in their own land. At this moment, there is no clear sign that these changes will happen.

 

Instead, many see this appointment as part of a system that continues to manage the hills without fully addressing its core problems. This is why the reaction is not hope. It is caution.

 

The Chittagong Hill Tracts has seen many appointments before. Each time, expectations were raised, but the situation on the ground changed very little. Sometimes, even worse than before. That memory still shapes how people understand the present.

 

The reality is clear. Until the system changes, trust will not return. And without trust, no appointment, no matter where it comes from, will bring real change to the hills.