Online Desk: The principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman has been made the new chief of general staff (CGS) of Bangladesh Army.

He replaces Ataul Hakim Sarwar Hasan, who retires as a Lieutenant General of Bangladesh Army.

At the same time, the 9th Infantry Division general officer commanding, Major General Mizanur Rahman Shameem, has been made principal staff officer of AFD.

An order signed by Bangladesh Army military secretary Major General Khan Firoz Ahmed was issued on Friday in this regard.

Also according to the order, the rank of Major General Mizanur Rahman Shameem would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general with the date of assumption of the appointment.

Lieutenant Colonel Abu Hayder Mohammad Rasheluzzaman, director of the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) directorate, confirmed the matter.

Prior to his latest appointment as CGS, Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman, SGP, psc assumed the duties of Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division in November 2020. An alumnus of Bangladesh Military Academy, the General was commissioned in the Corps of Infantry in December 1985. In a career spread over more than three and half decades, Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman is said to bring with him an enormous amount of experience of holding key command, staff and instructional appointments.

In his distinguished military career, Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman commanded an Infantry Battalion, an Independent Infantry Brigade and an Infantry Division. His key staff appointments include staff officer at an Infantry Brigade, School of Infantry and Tactics and Army Headquarters, according to his profile from the Armed Forces Division.

He was nominated as a Gender Champion and Gender Advocate of Bangladesh for UN Peacekeeping Affairs. Under the UN’s Blue Helmet, Lieutenant General Waker completed two tours of duty as observer and staff in UNAVEM (Angola) and UNMIL (Liberia) respectively.

He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur and Joint Services Command and Staff College, UK. He holds a master degree in Defence Studies from Bangladesh and Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King’s College, University of London.