Marking his first year as Chief of Army Staff on Monday, General Waker-uz-Zaman urged his rank and file to perform their duties in aid of civil administration with utmost sincerity.
“Shortly after I took over, we encountered a hostile situation. We didn’t invite it; it came to us,” he was reported to have told his forces during an officers’ address which followed a darbar.
The darbar was attended by all members of the Bangladesh Army across the country. It began at 10 am and continued until 11:15 am.
The officers’ address commenced at 12 noon and lasted for over an hour and a half. Officers from all garrisons across the country, as well as those posted abroad on UN peacekeeping missions, participated in the meeting.
Unlike previous officers’ addresses, this one focused primarily on matters relating to the Bangladesh Army and its members.
“We have to carry out the duties entrusted to us,” one officer quoted General Waker as saying during both the officers’ address and the darbar.
He urged all members not to pay attention to any propaganda, especially that circulated through social media, and to focus on performing their duties properly.
After his approximately 30-minute opening speech at the officers’ gathering, around 20 officers spoke and raised various issues, including about healthcare, housing, and other matters.
Officers noted that holding a darbar with sepoys, NCOs, JCOs, and officers’ addresses with commissioned officers is a customary practice on the anniversary of a chief’s appointment.
“The darbar and officers’ address today (Monday) followed this tradition, and the meetings focused purely on army affairs,” another officer told the Times of Bangladesh.
While it is a usual practice, the meetings this time carried special significance, as the armed forces are engaged in public duties in support of civil administration.
In fact, analysts say General Waker has faced turbulent times since assuming office.
Previous officers’ addresses
General Waker’s last officers’ address was on May 21, where he reportedly spoke about the election, the corridor, the Chattogram port, and mob violence. He expressed a desire to return to the barracks after the completion of the general elections by December this year.
Earlier, in a similar officers’ address on March 24, senior army officers called for the swift restoration of democracy through general elections, expressing their intention to return to the barracks and refocus on their primary responsibilities.
In an earlier officers’ address, preceded by a darbar and attended by personnel from all divisions of the Bangladesh Army on August 20 last year, General Waker-uz-Zaman suggested that the army’s role in assisting civil administration might extend longer than initially expected due to practical considerations.
The first such address, held on August 3, 2024, after he assumed office on June 23, was particularly significant. The prevailing sentiment among junior officers was “No fire on our own people.” General Waker-uz-Zaman reinforced that commitment more explicitly, declaring: “No fire from now on.”
This principled stance ultimately played a key role in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation within 48 hours, on August 5.
The army was called in on July 19 following a quota movement that culminated in a one-point demand and forced Sheikh Hasina to flee the country due to a mass upsurge.