General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan

Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan (born 2 June 1957) is a retired Bangladeshi four star general who served as the 14th Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army. He took office of Army Chief at 25 June 2012 and retired on 25 June 2015. He joined Bangladesh Military Academy on 19 March 1976 and was commissioned on 30 November 1976 in the Infantry Regiment (East Bengal Regiment).

Iqbal had a diversified and fine mix of all three types of appointment available in army. During his 39 years of service in the Bangladesh Army, He commanded three infantry battalions, an infantry brigade and three divisions. He also served as chief of general staff, colonel staff of a division, and platoon commander of the Bangladesh Military Academy. He participated in Operation Desert Storm and received the 'Liberation of Kuwait Medal'.

Early life and education

Bhuiyan was born in Comilla on 2 June 1957 and studied in Comilla Zilla School and Faujdarhat Cadet College. Bhuiyan has participated in courses abroad which include Company Commander's Course in Malaysia, Course on Peace-Keeping for Decision Makers in the Defence Institute of International Legal Studies in Rhode Island, US. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and United States Army Command and General Staff College.

Career

Bhuiyan entered the Bangladesh Military Academy on 19 March 1976 at 3rd BMA SSC (Short Service Commission) course and was commissioned on 30 November 1976 in East Bengal Regiment with Md Abdul Mubeen who rose to the rank of full general in 2009.

Bhuiyan held important positions in the Bangladesh Army including Platoon Commander in Bangladesh Military Academy, Colonel Staff of 11 Division, Bogra, Commander of 105 Infantry Brigade and also served as the directing staff of the Defence Services Command and Staff College. Bhuiyan actively took part in Operation Desert Storm and received the Kuwait Liberation Medal from the government of Kuwait.

He served as Commandant of Staff College, Commandant of the School of Infantry and Tactics (S I & T), Sylhet, Commander of BANSEC-2, and United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia ( UNAMSIL).

He was GOC of the 19 Division, Ghatail, the 24 Division, Chittagong and CGS (Chief of General Staff) of Bangladesh Army. He was the CGS of Bangladesh Army in 2007. In 2009, he was the Commandant of the Defence Services Command and Staff College when he was appointed General Officer Commanding of the 9th Infantry Division, Savar Cantonment. He was the Quartermaster General (QMG) of Bangladesh Army in 2010 after being promoted to lieutenant general in May 2010. He was the chairman of Bangladesh Diesel Plant Limited.

Bhuiyan was appointed of Chief of Army Staff in June 2012 replacing General Md Abdul Mubeen, who was his course-mate. Bhuiyan was promoted to full general on the day he took office of Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army on 25 June 2012.

He invited Indian army chief General Bikram Singh in 2012's October to visit Bangladesh. In November 2012, he held a reception for veterans of Bangladesh Liberation War. In 2013, he raised the flags of 32nd Bangladesh Infantry Regiment (32 BIR) and 33rd Bangladesh Infantry Regiment (33 BIR), two new infantry units, based in Jalalabad Cantonment.

Bhuiyan hosted General Vincent Brooks of the United States Army Pacific command in 2014 during the Pacific Armies Management Seminar.

Bhuiyan inaugurated Bangladesh Golf Academy in 2015 at the Army Golf Club. On 25 June 2015, General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq replaced Bhuiyan as the Chief of Army Staff.

Bhuiyan took active measures to prevent extrajudicial killings and the culture of enforced disappearances. He resisted pressure from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to send more young army officers to the Rapid Action Battalion and other paramilitary forces used by the Awami League to suppress opposition. His actions put him in direct conflict with Hasina's military advisor, Tarique Siddique.

Post-military

After retirement, he opened a power-supplying firm called Winnievision Power Ltd, which primarily invests in LNG-based power plants.

Support for Students

Bhuiyan was among several retired military personnel, who expressed support for the student movement leading the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement and the Non-cooperation movement and called on the Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to "withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately". On August 4, 2024, he organized a press conference where he and other retired army officers condemned the attacks on innocent protestors and subsequently called on the troops to return to the barracks.

He also uploaded the color red on his Facebook profile in support of the movement. This prompted many other retired army officers to also upload red profile pictures. He stated later on, in his official social media page, that this act infuriated Hasina and she tried to force him to take it down.

Support for Reforms

After the uprising against Hasina, he released a number of writings regarding his tenure in the Army. He highlighted how he tried to stop extrajudicial killings and moreover, called on Waker-uz-Zaman to remove army officers from RAB. Bhuiyan also called for a formal inquiry to clarify unanswered questions about Sheikh Hasina’s escape and the army’s internal divisions during the crisis.

Honours

Family

Bhuiyan is married to Tahmina Yasmin and the couple has two daughters and one son.

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhuiyan, Iqbal Karim
1957 births
Living people
People from Comilla District
Chiefs of Army Staff, Bangladesh
Bangladeshi generals
People from Comilla
Faujdarhat Cadet College alumni
Comilla Zilla School alumni
21st-century Bangladeshi military personnel
20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel