Bangladesh Army set to overthrow anti-India Yunus? Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman orders troops to gather in…, what is happening?

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus who took over the reins of Bangladesh's interim government after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year, is reportedly at odds Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman. India-Bangladesh relations have hit an all-time low since Yunus assumed office.

India-Bangladesh relations: Amidst reports of a deepening rift between the Bangladesh Army and the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government as well the Students Against Discrimination — the students’ body at the helm of last year’s riots that led to the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina– a large number of armored vehicles and troops have been summoned in Dhaka, sparking speculations of another coup in the country’s capital.

According to a report, troops of Bangladesh Army’s Savar-based 9th Division have been mobilized and started marching into Dhaka in a phased manner. Citing sources within Bangladesh’s security establishment, a report by Northeast news said the Bangladesh Army seeks to strengthen its control across the country, especially the capital Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Army is divided into 10 division-sized regional commands with no fixed number of brigades. The 9th Infantry Division is based in Savar, while the 19th Infantry Division, another major unit, is stationed in Ghatail.

Student leaders make shocking revelations about Army chief

The development comes after a prominent student leader made shocking revelations about Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman. In a pre-recorded video released Friday, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, a student activist, currently serving as adviser to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives in Bangladesh’s interim government, claimed that the Army chief had reluctantly agreed to appoint Nobel Peace Prize awardee Muhammad Yunus as the chief adviser of the interim government.

Bhuiyan’s revelations came days after another influential student activist, Hasnat Abdullah, had threatened to launch a mass movement against the army establishment following a purported secret meeting with General Zaman on March 11, during which the Army chief allegedly suggested that Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League could return to politics and even contest elections, when and if they are held.

India conspiring to resurrect Hasina’s Awami League?

In a Facebook post, Hasnat Abdullah claimed that India was plotting to reintroduce Hasina’s ousted Awami League party by creating a ‘Refined Awami League’ during a meeting at the Dhaka Cantonment on March 11. The student leader claimed they were offered seat sharings in exchange for accepting a proposal to bring back what was described as a “Refined Awami League”, describing it as “entirely India’s plan.”

The student leaders provided no explanation on why they waited over two weeks to make the conversation with General Zaman public, but threatened to launch a mass movement against the Bangladesh Army top brass, following which the chiefs of Bangladesh’s three armed forces– Army, Navy, and Air Force– held a virtual meeting to take steps in anticipation of another student uprising in the near future.

The development comes ahead of Muhammad Yunus’ scheduled three-day visit to China from March 26.

Yunus at odds with General Zaman

According to recent reports, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus who took over the reins of Bangladesh’s interim government after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year, is reportedly at odds with the country’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Waker-Uz-Zaman.

General Zaman has been unhappy with the Yunus-led interim government for quite some time, and has often raised questions about the country’s democratic future and the deteriorating law and order condition following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, they said.

India-Bangladesh relations

India-Bangladesh relations have hit an all-time low after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, coming to the helm in Dhaka.

Widespread communal violence against minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, which has soured Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi, with the latter accusing the Yunus-led interim government of not doing enough, and turning a blind eye to the atrocities perpetrated by radical Islamist elements against the minority Hindu community in the country.