Visiting Dhaka for corporate or development sector work? Request a licensed CPO briefing before your trip.
This page is about the people who provide close protection in Dhaka: who they are, how they are vetted, and what credentials to verify before they deploy. Every operator in our Dhaka network works for a company licensed under the Private Security Services Act 2006, passes documented background checks, and is assessed for Bangladesh-specific competence. It covers standard team configuration, the usually unarmed model, and the credential checks a buyer should insist on before engaging any officer.
licensed operators with direct Dhaka experience deliver close protection built around the post-Holey-Artisan-Bakery reality: venue advance work that verifies security upgrade compliance, accommodation discipline in the Gulshan corridor, and standing hartal protocols that anticipate disruption rather than reacting to it.
For the full Dhaka security picture, see our Dhaka city briefing. For principals requiring vetted transport as the primary security measure for a standard corporate visit, security drivers in Dhaka covers the licensed chauffeur programme.
To arrange short-term cover for a specific trip, see bodyguard hire in Dhaka. For organisational, duty-of-care protection around a corporate visit, see executive protection in Dhaka.
What does this cover in Dhaka?
Licensing under the Private Security Services Act 2006
Private security companies in Bangladesh are licensed under the Private Security Services Act 2006, by the Police Commissioner in a metropolitan area and the District Magistrate elsewhere (section 6). Security guards must be Bangladeshi nationals (section 9), so foreign personnel cannot be employed as guards under the Act. Our Dhaka partners hold a current licence under the Private Security Services Act 2006 and provide full personnel documentation before each deployment.
Post-Holey-Artisan Bakery Terrorism Protocol
The July 2016 attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's Gulshan district killed 22 people, including foreign nationals from Italy, Japan, and the United States. The attackers specifically targeted the restaurant because of its foreign clientele, and the coordinated assault demonstrated IS-affiliated capability against expat-zone targets. CPO venue protocols for Dhaka reflect this template directly: advance work at every restaurant, hotel, and venue on the principal's itinerary verifies that post-2016 security upgrades are in place, including vehicle access control and visitor screening. The FCDO maintains a high terrorism threat rating for Bangladesh. Source: FCDO Bangladesh travel advisory, April 2026.
Gulshan Diplomatic Enclave Operations
Gulshan 1 and Gulshan 2 are the primary expatriate and diplomatic zones in Dhaka, with significantly enhanced security infrastructure since 2016. Government checkpoints, venue-level security screening, and an elevated security force presence are standard features of the Gulshan zone. CPO operations are centred on accommodation in the Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara corridor. All principal movements are pre-planned and pre-booked, and no unplanned movement or ad-hoc transport use is permitted. The Baridhara DOHS (Defence Officers Housing Society) provides the highest-security residential zone for extended assignments.
Hartal and Civil Unrest Contingency
Hartals, general strikes called by political parties or organisations, are a recurrent feature of Bangladesh political life. They can be called with limited notice and effectively shut down transport across Dhaka for hours or days, stranding personnel between locations. CPO hartal protocol: monitoring of the political calendar and local news sources throughout the assignment, accommodation flexibility so the principal is not committed to movements during elevated tension periods, a security driver with real-time Dhaka conditions awareness, and a pre-agreed shelter-in-place protocol for the principal's accommodation. Source: FCDO Bangladesh travel advisory, April 2026.
Traffic, Emergency Response, and Medical Planning
Dhaka's traffic congestion is severe enough to function as a security constraint. Emergency response times across the city are affected by congestion, which means realistic journey times must be measured in hours rather than minutes for incident scenarios. CPO planning for Dhaka identifies the nearest international-standard medical facility from each principal location before movements begin. Venue selection accounts for medical access. Medical evacuation insurance with a documented provider is a required element of the pre-deployment brief.
Sources for this page
Licensing, firearms and foreign-operator rules for Dhaka, checked : Laws of Bangladesh (Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division), Private Security Services Act 2006; Prothom Alo, challenges and prospects of Bangladesh's private security services industry (24 July 2025). The full rules are on our Dhaka security overview.
Travel advice quoted on this page: FCDO travel advice: Bangladesh. Advice changes; read the current version before travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CPO standard applies for senior executives visiting the Gulshan zone?
How does the Holey Artisan Bakery attack shape current CPO protocols?
How do hartals affect CPO operations in Dhaka?
What NGO and development sector CPO protocols apply in Dhaka?
This page is published by CloseProtectionHire.com and written to editorial standards overseen by James Calloway, Senior Security Consultant (regulation, licensing, vetting and risk frameworks) and Marcus Webb, Security Operations Adviser (operational close protection, secure transport and city-specific safety).
Threat, regulatory and emergency information is sourced to named, dated authorities such as the FCDO, the US State Department and national licensing bodies. Last updated . See how we verify.