Aziz Ahmed (general)

Aziz Ahmed (born 1 January 1961) is a four Star General of Bangladesh and the current Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of the Bangladesh Army.

This article is about a Bangladeshi general. For the Pakistani diplomat, see Aziz Ahmed.

General

Aziz Ahmed

SBP, BSP, BGBM, PBGM, BGBMS, psc, G, PhD
আজিজ আহমেদ
Official Military Portrait
Chief of Army Staff
Assumed office
26 June 2018
PresidentAbdul Hamid
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byBelal Shafiul Huq
Personal details
Born (1961-01-01) 1 January 1961
Chandpur District, East Pakistan
(Now Bangladesh)
ParentsAbdul Wadud (Father)
Renuja Begum (Mother)
Alma materNational University, American International University-Bangladesh
Websitewww.army.mil.bd
Military service
Allegiance Bangladesh
Branch/service Bangladesh Army
Years of service1983 - Present
Rank General
UnitRegiment of Artillery
Commands• Quartermaster General of Bangladesh Army
• GOC of ARTDOC
• DG of Border Guard Bangladesh
• GOC of 33 Infantry Division
• Commander 33 Artillery Brigade
• Commander 6 Independent Air Defense Artillery Brigade
• Sector Commander of Bangladesh Riffles
Battles/warsUNIKOM UNMIS

Early life and education

Ahmed was born on 1 January 1961 in Narayangonj.[1] His ancestral home is in the village of Tarki in Sultanabad Union, Matlab Uttar Upazila, Chandpur District. His father Abdul Wadud worked in the air force[2] and his mother's name is Renuja Begum. He completed his SSC from Mohammadpur Government High School in 1977, went to Notre Dame College, Dhaka and completed HSC there; Engineering in Textile Technology from College of Textile Technology (present Bangladesh University of Textiles) in 1980 and was commissioned in the regiment of artillery on 10 June 1983 with 8th BMA Long Course. He is a graduate of Defense Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur. He completed his Masters in Defense Studies, and MSc (Technical) from National University and also completed a Masters in Business Administration (Executive) from American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB).[1]

Career

Ahmed received his commission in the Corps of Artillery on 10 June 1983 from the Bangladesh Military Academy. He had been a GSO-3 (Operation) in CHT, Brigade major in an infantry brigade, GSO-II in AHQ Military Training Directorate and GSO-I of AHQ Pay Pension & Allowance Directorate. Ahmed commanded one Artillery Regiment, one BDR (Bangladesh Rifles) Battalion, one BDR Sector, two Artillery brigades including an Independent Air Defense Artillery Brigade. He also served as instructor for more than seven years at the Artillery Center & School and the School of Military Intelligence.

As a Major General, Ahmed commanded the 33rd Infantry Division in Comilla. He was appointed as Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on 5 December 2012.[3] Under his command the BGB raised four regional headquarters, 15 battalions and established 108 new border outposts covering 310 kilometres (190 mi) unguarded border with India and Myanmar along the border in Chittagong Hill Tracts area, two floating outposts in the Sundarbans.

During his tenure a total of 18,000 new soldiers were recruited, including the first 100 female recruits in the BGB.[4]

Ahmed also served as an observer for the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) and a military adviser to the force commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).[3]

On 16 November 2016 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as GOC of ARTDOC.[5][6]

On 9 January 2018 he was appointed as Quarter Master General (QMG) of Bangladesh Army at Army Headquarters.

On 25 June 2018 Ahmed was promoted to the rank of General and was appointed to replace Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq as Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army.[7] After he became the new Army chief of Bangladesh, BTRC temporarily blocked the online portal Bdnews24.com citing "objectionable comments" about Ahmed. The portal was only allowed to re-open after the unspecified "objectional" content had been removed.[8]

Contributions
Ahmed with General Bipin Rawat (August 1, 2018).

After the appointment of Ahmed, the Bangladesh Army witnessed important reforms.[9] During his tenure, the Bangladesh Army has participated in 54 UN peace-keeping missions in 40 countries.[10] He also facilitated the signing of a non-binding agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia[11] for military cooperation and support that includes the deployment of Bangladeshi troops in Saudi Arabia.[12][13] Ahmed played a vital role in normalizing the then BDR force after the Bangladesh Rifles Revolt.[14] He reinstated confidence on the newly formed BGB. Ahmed took initiative to launch 'Shimanto Bank'- a welfare project for the betterment of Border Guards of Bangladesh.[14]

Personal life

Ahmed is married and has three sons.

Ahmed had 5 brothers including younger brother Tofail Ahmed Joseph, a convicted criminal.[15] In 2017, media reported that Joseph had spent 20 months in hospital, allegedly without any medical reason, and in privileged conditions.[16] He was transported back to the jail from hospital when the issue was raised.[17] He was given a presidential pardon on 30 May 2018, in order to undergo medical treatment in India.[15] Two other brothers, Harris (or Haris) and Anis Ahmed, were also named as accomplices in the murder of Mostafa, and a fourth sibling, Sayeed Ahmed Tipu, was shot dead by assailants in the 1990s.[17][16]

Controversies

On 1 February 2021, Al Jazeera broadcast a one-hour long investigative documentary titled All the Prime Minister's Men,[18] which revealed how Ahmed protected his brothers, Haris and Anis Ahmed, after they fled abroad to escape law enforcement despite them both being currently wanted by Bangladeshi law enforcement. In addition, leaked documents obtained by Al Jazeera revealed how General Aziz used officers to help Harris create a false identity, which was then used to set up businesses in Europe and buy properties around the world.

In other video recordings, Aziz's brother Haris boasts of profits he made from military contracts using his brother's power as army chief to extract bribes. The documentary also provided photographic evidence that in March 2019, Harris and Anis visited Dhaka for the wedding of Aziz's son, where the two fugitives partied alongside Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and foreign dignitaries during an opulent ceremony.

The documentary has been publicly denounced by the Bangladesh government, and the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh has hinted at taking legal steps against Al Jazeera on this accord.[19] Bangladesh Army Headquarters condemned Al Jazeera report and told it was false, abusive, politically motivated to disrupt the harmony among different government organs of the country.[20] UN Secretary-General's spokesman comments on the report in response to a question and said, it should be investigated by the relevant authorities.[21]

References
  1. "Chief of Army Staff". Bangladesh Army. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  2. "Ex-BGB Director General Aziz Ahmed named new army chief". bdnews24.com. 18 June 2018.
  3. "Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed new BGB director general". The Daily Star. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. "Outgoing BGB chief unhappy with border killing, Felani trial". Dhaka Tribune. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  5. "Ex-BGB DG Aziz Ahmed promoted to Lt Gen". Daily Sun. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. "Maj Gen Abul Hossain appointed Border Guard Bangladesh chief". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. "Aziz Ahmed made new Army Chief". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 18 June 2018.
  8. "BTRC reopened bdnews24 website". Benarnews.
  9. Chowdhury, Imran (7 May 2019). "New Era of Bangladesh Army under a Dynamic Skipper". Daily Sun. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  10. Aziz, Ahmed (23 May 2019). "Increased interoperability of land forces with allies and partners: A Bangladesh perspective". The Daily Star. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  11. Bhuiyan, Humayun (15 February 2019). "Dhaka Tribune". Dhaka Tribune. Dhaka. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  12. "Military Cooperation: Dhaka, Riyadh sign MoU". The Daily Star. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  13. "Military Cooperation: Dhaka, Riyadh sign MoU". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  14. "Colourful Career of the Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army". The Daily Bangladesh. Dhaka. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  15. "General Aziz Ahmed named new Army Chief of Bangladesh". India Today. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  16. "Top criminal Joseph freed from jail on presidential mercy". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  17. "President pardons top terror Joseph". The Daily Star. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  18. "Gang close to Bangladesh PM extracts bribes for state contracts". Al Jazeera. 1 February 2021.
  19. Bhuiyan, Akif. "Bangladesh weighing legal steps against Al Jazeera". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  20. Correspondent, Staff (3 February 2021). "Army HQ condemns Al Jazeera report". The Daily Star. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  21. Unit, Al Jazeera Investigative. "UN calls for Bangladesh army probe after Al Jazeera investigation". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
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