Bangladesh will fall apart if police and armed forces are undermined: Army chief

Army Chief of Bangladesh warns against undermining law enforcement agencies, emphasizes unity and free, fair elections by December 2025.

In an unprecedented public statement, the Army Chief of Bangladesh General Waker-uz-Zaman on Tuesday (February 25, 2025) warned that the interim government should not undermine law and order machinery. Addressing a gathering of mostly military officials where he spoke on the national martyrdom day, General Zaman said Bangladesh will fall apart if the authority of the armed forces, police and other law enforcement agencies are “undermined”.

“This nation’s independence and sovereignty will be undermined if you can not stop the mudslinging and if you continue to kill and injure each other. I have no other aspirations. For the past seven to eight months, I have had enough,” said General Zaman in his first public statement about continued volatility in Bangladesh. General Zaman was in charge of the government for few days after Sheikh Hasina fled leaving the affairs of the state. He however made way for the interim government led by Nobel peace prize winner Dr. Mohammad Yunus.

Editorial | Perilous path: on Bangladesh and its interim government

Since the arrival of the Dr. Yunus-led interim government, much of the focus has been on the six commissions that were given the mandate to fix accountability for the violence carried out by the police and paramilitary forces on order from the Awami League government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. These commissions, backed by the advisers in the government, have often targeted the police and other law and order machineries in the country attacking the legitimacy from which these agencies earlier used to derive their power. Countering the trend of law enforcement agencies responsible collectively, General Zaman said, “Police, RAB, DGFI, BGB, NSI have done extremely important works for the country. Alongside negative things, they have done numerous good deeds. That is why we found a stable atmosphere in the country in the past.”

The police and DGFI, the intelligence outfit of the country was often seen in social media videos at the forefront of the crackdown against protesters during the uprising of July-August 2024 which prompted calls for justice after the fall of the Hasina government. However, General Zaman said, justice for the wrongdoers within the law enforcement agencies should be delivered “without undermining” them.

“Today the police is not working because there are a large number of cases against them. There is panic in RAB and NSI. If you think that peace and discipline of the country can be maintained by undermining these organizations, that is not going to happen,” said General Zaman explaining that there are two lakh police personnel in the country whose role can not be replaced by the Army. He also came out for holding election by December this year.

Dr. Yunus, said the top general of the country, is trying to unite Bangladesh. ”We are moving towards a free, fair and inclusive election and before that the government will do some reforms. I agree with Dr Yunus that election should be held within December 2025. There can be divergences in our ideas and ideologies but at the end of the day we should remain united,” said General Zaman .