Who Is Bangladesh Army Chief Zaman Going After Yunus? Hasina’s Kin Who Delhi Had Warned Her Against

Last Updated:May 23, 2025, 15:07 IST

The friction between the civilian government of Mohammad Yunus and General Waker-Uz-Zaman’s Army has become so apparent that Yunus’s resignation is being discussed openly in Dhaka

(From left) Yunus, Zaman and Hasina. (File)

When General Waker-Uz-Zaman was about to be appointed as Bangladesh’s Army Chief, Indian intelligence agencies had alerted South Block to caution Dhaka, said top sources in the Awami League, whose senior-most leadership is now living in exile.

When cautions were disregarded, top sources in the Awami League said that a senior official of the government of India had contacted then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, advising against Zaman’s appointment, as India had reasons to believe he may be pro-Pakistan. Hasina thanked the official for their concern and the conversation ended.

“The objection was on two counts. One, on technical grounds as Zaman wasn’t in his best health then. Two better candidates were overlooked, New Delhi had pointed out. The second point was strategic as Zaman was pro-Pakistan. However, it seems Waker-Uz-Zaman finally got the post because he was related to Sheikh Hasina," Bangladeshi journalist Shahidul Hasan Khokon told News18.

HOW ZAMAN GAINED HASINA’S CONFIDENCE

A graduate of the Bangladesh Military Academy, Zaman holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from the University of Bangladesh and a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College, London. Commissioned in the Bangladesh Army in 1985, Zaman has had a 40-year career so far. He has also spent time in the UN peacekeeping force.

While serving as the Principal Staff Officer at the Armed Forces Division under the Prime Minister’s Office, Zaman caught Hasina’s attention, so much so, she felt it was okay to trust her gut feeling over intelligence from Bangladesh’s closest ally back then — India.

Days into his role as Bangladesh’s Army Chief, he faced a student-led uprising — the defining moment of Hasina’s political career. The uprising that started against reservation ended up being a manifestation of anger, which now appears to have been manufactured to a great extent. Appointed by Hasina just 22 days before, on June 23, 2024, Zaman was key in the change of power, which New Delhi had envisioned. On August 5, 2024, as protests escalated and the situation in Dhaka became untenable, Zaman addressed the nation via a televised broadcast. He announced that Hasina had resigned and fled the country, reportedly to India, and declared the formation of an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to restore order and oversee a democratic transition. Dhaka erupted in violent jubilations.

Moreover, Waker is married to Begum Sarahnaz Kamalika Rahman, the eldest daughter of late General Mustafizur Rahman, and the couple has two daughters. Sarahnaz’s father General Mustafizur Rahman, was the former chief of army staff from December 24, 1997 to December 23, 2000. Hasina is a distant aunt of Sarahnaz.

THE FRICTION BETWEEN YUNUS & ZAMAN

Cut to May 2025, the friction between the civilian government of Yunus and Zaman’s Army has become so apparent that Yunus’s resignation is being discussed openly in Dhaka. The Daily Star, one of the independent news dailies of Bangladesh, wrote, “Frustrated over recent developments, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is considering stepping down, said sources familiar with what went down at the Chief Adviser’s Office and Jamuna yesterday."

The daily added that during the advisory council meeting, Yunus voiced his desire to resign and address the nation through a televised speech. Citizen Party Convener Nahid Islam, who is tipped to succeed Yunus, told BBC Bangla in an interview that the chief adviser was weighing resignation.

While demonstrations are going on in Bangladesh over myriad demands, including, most recently, to ban the Awami League, the Army Chief has his own reasons for frustration. Nearly 300 mutineers, who were convicted in a court of law for murdering 57 army officers and 16 others during a bloody uprising in February 2009, have been released so far this year under Yunus’s watch.

Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Jashimuddin Rahmani is seen as a contributor to a militant Bangladesh of tomorrow, which any professional army would like to avoid. But what has irked the army most is probably US intervention. They see it as a sovereignty issue, something Hasina mentioned while talking about St Martins Island.

Yunus’s military adviser General Kamrul Hassan met with US Chargé d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson, which is seen by Zaman as an effort to replace him using the US support.

To say Zaman is out to oust Yunus may still be premature. But to say he wants him to go? Definitely. When an Army Chief tells a nation about a foreign hand deciding internal matters, he is likely to have public support with him.

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