Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has delivered his strongest warning yet to interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, demanding early elections, an end to interference in military affairs, and full transparency on critical national issues like the controversial Rakhine Corridor.
In a rare and forceful address during a Durbar on Wednesday at Dhaka’s Senaprangan — attended by “all available officers in combat uniform” — General Waker set a clear deadline: national elections must be held by December this year. The speech follows mounting tensions within the power structure installed after the military-led ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year. Waker had placed Yunus at the helm of an interim administration, aiming to restore democratic processes, maintain stability, and preserve the military’s professional integrity.
Unlike past Bangladeshi military leaders who seized power outright — often meeting grim ends — Waker has positioned himself as a guardian of democracy. Privately, he has expressed that generals who overreach lose legitimacy and face disgrace. Instead, he has focused on three core goals: restoring democracy, ensuring internal order, and upholding the army’s global standing, particularly its reputation in UN peacekeeping missions.
However, Waker’s vision for a smooth return to electoral politics is now under strain. Yunus, once seen as a transitional figure, has shown signs of entrenchment. While he denounces Hasina for past electoral malpractice, he has delayed elections and has allegedly sought to consolidate control without a democratic mandate.
Sources within the military and civil administration say General Waker has grown increasingly suspicious of Yunus’s intentions — particularly fears that he is orchestrating a plan to unseat the army chief by mobilising Islamist street protests and leveraging foreign influence.
This backdrop explains Wednesday’s show of strength. Flanked by the chiefs of the Air Force and Navy, Waker used the Durbar to deliver three uncompromising messages:
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The military remains united and firmly behind its chief.
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It will no longer tolerate being sidelined on matters of national security.
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It will not allow unrest or instability to spiral unchecked — a clear reference to the Islamist protests encouraged by Yunus's supporters.
One flashpoint is the proposed Chittagong-to-Rakhine corridor, which Yunus has positioned as a humanitarian passage to Myanmar. However, the army believes it is a strategic ploy that could allow the U.S. to funnel military aid to ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar, drawing Bangladesh into the Burmese civil war. Waker referred to it bluntly as a “bloody corridor.” Despite lobbying by U.S. diplomats, the army chief remains firmly opposed.
Yunus’s pursuit of the corridor appears to be an effort to win U.S. backing and remain in power without elections. But the move has backfired. Bangladesh’s major political parties — including the Awami League, BNP, and various leftist groups — have all rejected the plan, seeing it as a risk to national sovereignty and a tool of U.S. power projection aimed at containing China.
Another source of friction is Yunus’s appointment of Khalilur Rahman — a former diplomat and U.S. citizen — as National Security Adviser, in what Waker sees as an attempt to create a civilian counterbalance to the military's security authority. Rahman, widely seen as the architect of the Rakhine plan, resigned abruptly after the Durbar, publicly denying any military component to the project.
Rumours of Yunus grooming Lieutenant General Kamrul Hassan — a senior officer reporting directly to the interim leadership — as Waker’s replacement have also stoked tensions. Hassan’s recent solo trip to Pakistan and meetings with U.S. diplomats, allegedly without Waker’s clearance, further deepened distrust.
General Waker is now expected to demand Hassan’s removal, along with other officers perceived as disloyal. These tensions are compounded by the emergence of the National Citizens Party, an Islamist-aligned group pushing for a “July Declaration” that would abolish the secular 1972 Constitution and establish a new governance structure — possibly allowing Yunus to rule indefinitely.
This declaration, combined with efforts to oust President Shahabuddin Chuppu, would pave the way for sweeping changes in both civilian and military leadership — a scenario the army is unwilling to accept. At the Durbar, officers reaffirmed their allegiance to the values of the 1971 Liberation War, calling them non-negotiable.
In effect, General Waker’s address was a final warning: Yunus must stop attempting to bypass the Constitution, stop foreign-aligned maneuvers like the corridor project, and commit to immediate, credible elections. Should Yunus resist, the army has a constitutional path — asking the President to declare an emergency, dismiss the interim government (for which no legal basis exists), and initiate elections under military oversight.
