Bangladesh Army rejigs top brass amid power shift

New Delhi: Within days of Tarique Rahman taking charge as prime minister, the Bangladesh Army has appointed new officers to several top posts including the quartermaster general (QMG), replacing the incumbent who was perceived to be close to Pakistan.

This was the second reshuffle in top-level army posts in less than 10 days and followed Rahman's meetings with the army chief.

Lt Gen Mohammad Shaheenul Haque and Lt Gen Mohammad Faizur Rahman have switched roles, with Haque taking over as QMG and Rahman assuming charge as commandant of the National Defence College. Rahman is alleged to have close ties with Pakistan.


Last year, Rahman tried to take over the reins of Bangladesh Army but the move was foiled. ET had then reported that Rahman, with support of a few other generals, had moved to replace Gen Waqar-uz-Zaman as the army chief but did not receive adequate support from the senior leadership of the army.

In January 2025, Rahman had engaged with a delegation of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, which was visiting Dhaka to push Islamabad's agenda.

Maj Gen Hossain Al Morshed, general officer commanding (GOC) of the 19 infantry division, has been appointed the new adjutant general at army headquarters. In turn, Maj Gen Md Hakimuzzaman, the current adjutant general, has been appointed the new commandant of the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), according to a report in Bangladesh's leading English daily The Daily Star. Maj Gen Md Nasim Parvez, who was serving as commandant of MIST, has been transferred to the ministry of foreign affairs.

The first round of reshuffle was carried out on February 22 when several top-level army officers were transferred, including the chief of general staff, the principal staff officer and the chief of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).