Why General Waker spoke up
Army Chief General Waker Uz Zaman’s call for elections by December 2025 has reignited debate over the military’s expanding role in civil affairs. Was General Waker’s election comment an overreach or a reflection of ground realities?
The recent remarks by the Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker Uz Zaman suggesting that the elections should be held by December 2025 have sparked debate across the political spectrum. The student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) has criticised the statement, arguing that the military should not interfere in political matters.
Constitutionally, the armed forces are expected to remain apolitical. However, this raises a broader question: Is the Constitution currently in place? Additionally, the military's role has deeply been intertwined with the political landscape following August 5, 2024, when the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
On the same day, the Army Chief took responsibility for protecting the sovereignty of the nation. Later, he coordinated the transition of power to the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. To this day, the military continues to exercise magistracy powers to uphold internal stability and national security.
Following Hasina's departure, law enforcement agencies failed to contain widespread mob violence, prompting the Bangladesh Army, led by General Waker Uz Zaman, to step in. The military established community protection units and increased patrols in high-risk areas, including Dhaka. As the transition unfolded, ethnic unrest and criminal activity flared in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, again requiring military intervention.
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At the same time, severe flooding triggered by heavy rainfall and water released from India's Tripura state devastated northeastern and southeastern regions. In response, military units rescued thousands, distributed aid, and led rehabilitation efforts in what became one of the worst flood disasters in recent history.
Given the existing political landscape, the major political parties have failed to reach a consensus on the electoral roadmap and the interim government's reformation process. Almost every day, different political parties took to the streets over different demands, leading to traffic congestion and public suffering.
Professor Yunus himself repeatedly said that a war-like situation is persisting in Bangladesh currently. In this context, the Army Chief's concerns about national stability and security reflect the gravity of the current situation.
General Waker has also voiced apprehensions over ongoing talks between the interim government and the United Nations regarding the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for Rohingya refugees in Myanmar's Rakhine State. While the proposed corridor is intended to facilitate aid delivery, critics argue it may threaten Bangladesh's sovereignty and draw the country deeper into regional geopolitics. There are growing concerns that Bangladesh could become a proxy battleground for global powers.
These concerns are not unfounded, especially given Bangladesh's strategic position at the crossroads of South and Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal. As a key player in the Indo-Pacific, Bangladesh has drawn interest from global actors including the United States, China, India, Japan, and Australia—all of whom see the country as vital to regional stability and economic connectivity.
Against this backdrop, the Bangladesh Army's longstanding involvement in managing the Rohingya crisis becomes particularly relevant. Since the 2017 influx, the military has played a critical humanitarian and security role protecting refugee camps, constructing sanitation infrastructure, and distributing aid. In December 2024, renewed violence in Myanmar's Arakan State led to the arrival of over 18,000 additional Rohingya refugees. As unrest escalated within the camps, the Army intensified its operations to maintain internal order and secure national borders.
In this context, the debate should not be about whether the army should stay away from political discussions or not. Instead, the focus should be on how national stability and democratic processes can be restored without prolonged deployment of the military in civil affairs so they can go back to cantonments.
Raihana Sayeeda Kamal is a researcher on the Indo-Pacific region and an alumna of McGill University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
