Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh)

The Chief of Army Staff (CAS; Bengali: সেনাবাহিনী প্রধান, romanized: Śenabahini Prodhan)^[1][2][3] is the professional head and highest-ranking commissioned officer of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army Staff is responsible for the overall command, administration, training, and operational preparedness of the army, and serves as the principal military adviser to the Government of Bangladesh on land-based defence and national security matters.

The office is held by an officer with the rank of General and is appointed by the President of Bangladesh on the advice of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The Chief of Army Staff is a senior member of the Armed Forces Division and plays a central role in maintaining national defence, internal security support, disaster response, and participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Prior to that, the Chief of Army Staff was a three-star rank from 1978 to 2007. During the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, Major general M. A. Rab was the Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army under the combined command of Bangladesh Forces which served as the origins of Bangladesh Armed Forces and General M. A. G. Osmani was the Commander-in-Chief.^[4] After the War of Independence, Bangladesh Army was officially reverted to the Ministry of Defense in 1972, and major general K. M. Shafiullah was appointed the Chief of Army Staff.^[5] The incumbent Chief of Army Staff is general Waker-Uz-Zaman.^[6][7] The office of the Chief of Army Staff functions from the Army Headquarters, which is located in the Dhaka Cantonment.^[8]

Prior the independence of Bangladesh, the Commander of the Eastern Command was the chief military administrator of the Pakistan Armed Forces stationed in then East Pakistan.^[9][10][11] Lieutenant general A. A. K. Niazi was the last commander of eastern commander before the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender in 16 December 1971. After the proclamation of Bangladeshi independence,^[12] general M. A. G. Osmani served as the commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh forces and major general Abdur Rab as the chief of staff of the army. Osmani eventually became the first commander-in-chief in 12 April 1971. While Osmani served as commander of the combined Bangladesh armed forces, Rab oversaw the army operations till April 1972.^[4]

In 6 April 1972, prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman restructured the bureaucracy of the Bangladesh armed forces which were directly commanded by Osmani and abolished Osmani's post as commander-in-chief. Major general K. M. Shafiullah, was made the chief of army staff succeeding Major general Rab on 7 April 1972.^[13][14] President Ziaur Rahman became the first army chief with the rank of lieutenant general in 1977 and Moeen U Ahmed embellished as the first four star army chief in 2007.^[15]

The following table chronicles the appointees, to the office of the Chief of Army Staff or its preceding positions since the independence war of Bangladesh.^[16][17][18]

Source:^[1]

• Chief of Air Staff (Bangladesh)
• Chief of Naval Staff (Bangladesh)
• Chief of the General Staff (Bangladesh)
• Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh)
• List of serving generals of the Bangladesh Army
• Lieutenant General (Bangladesh)
• Military ranks of Bangladesh
• Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Armed Forces

• Media related to Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website