Chief of Army Staff (CAS) ( bn, সেনাবাহিনী প্রধান, Senabahini Prodhan) of

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and defe ...

, also known as Army Chief, is the highest-ranking officer of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army staff has been a

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

since 2007. Maj. Gen.

M. A. Rab Mohammad Abdur Rab, Bir Uttom ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আব্দুর রব) (1919 – 1975) also known as M A Rab, was the first Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army from 10 April 1971 till 6 April 1972. Early life Abdur-Rab was ...

(the then Lt Col) was the Chief of StafSiyam f Army under the combined command of

Bangladesh Forces The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

which served as the origins of

Bangladesh Armed Forces The Bangladesh Armed Forces ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সশস্ত্র বাহিনী, Bangladesh Sashastra Bahinī) are the combined military forces of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It consists of the three uniformed m ...

. After the War of Independence Bangladesh Army was officially reverted to the Ministry of Defense in 1972 and Maj. Gen.

K. M. Shafiullah Kazi Mohammed Shafiullah Bir Uttam (born 2 September 1934), also known as K. M. Shafiullah, is a retired Bangladeshi general, former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, and former Member of Parliament. As the Second in Command of Seco ...

was appointed the Chief of Army Staff. The current Chief of Army Staff is Gen SM Shafiuddin Ahmed The office of the Chief of Army Staff functions from the Army Headquarters, which is located in the

Dhaka Cantonment Dhaka Cantonment ( bn, ঢাকা সেনানিবাস) is a cantonment located in the northern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The headquarters of the Bangladesh Army, and Air Force are situated within the cantonment which combined form the ...

History

The Bangladesh Army traced its roots back to the East Bengal Regiment composed solely of youths of East Bengal, then East Pakistan. However, on 25 March 1971, after long negotiations and actions failed to bring desired results

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

led a military crackdown on its own citizens, certain sections of people in East Pakistan (E. Bengal). There were civilian deaths and casualties also. Pakistan military planners conducted this through

Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...

, which spread across the country in main centers. During the first watch of 26th March 1971,

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

declared the Independence of Bangladesh. Another declaration was read out on 27 March 1971, by Major

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup ...

, on behalf of

over radio at Kalurghat Radio Stn., Chittagong city. As a result, in March 1971, many Bengali soldiers in the Pakistan Army revolted and joined the guerilla movement, Bangladesh Forces.

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Mohd. Ataul Goni Osmani served as the Commander-in-Chief and

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Mohd. Abdur Rab as the Chief of Staff. Bangladesh Army came into being officially in January, 1972. In April, Prime Minister

then decided to change the commanding posts of the three services which was combined and commanded by General

M. A. G. Osmani Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani ( bn, মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as ''Bangabir'' (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career ...

. On 7 April, Maj. Gen.

K M Shafiullah Kazi Mohammed Shafiullah Bir Uttam (born 2 September 1934), also known as K. M. Shafiullah, is a retired Bangladeshi general, former Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army, and former Member of Parliament. As the Second in Command of Second ...

, was made the chief of army staff. Chief of Army Staff's rank was upgraded to lieutenant-general in 1978 and then to four star general in 2007.

Appointees

The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Chief of Army Staff or its preceding positions since the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:

Commander-in-Chief, Mukti Bahini (1971–1972)

Chief of staff, Mukti Bahini (1971–1972)

Chiefs of Army staff (1972–present)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Army, Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...