Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan

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Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan
SBP, KLM
The Bangladesh Army Chief, Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan calls on the Defence Minister, Shri A. K. Antony, in New Delhi on April 01, 2013 (cropped).jpg
Bhuiyan in 2013
14th Chief of Army Staff
In office
25 June 2012 25 June 2015

Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan [a] [b] (born 2 June 1957) is a retired Bangladeshi four star general who served as the 14th chief of army staff of the Bangladesh Army from 25 June 2012 to 25 June 2015. Bhuiyan was the chief of general staff and quartermaster general prior his staff appointments and has participated in Operation Desert Storm where he received the Liberation of Kuwait Medal. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Bhuiyan was born in a Bengali Muslim family in Comilla on 2 June 1957. He finished elementary school from Comilla Zilla School and high school from Faujdarhat Cadet College. Bhuiyan enlisted to Bangladesh Military Academy then at Cumilla Cantonment on 1975. He was commissioned with 3rd short course along with his colleague and predecessor general Abdul Mubeen in East Bengal Regiment on 19 March 1976. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College and United States Army Command and General Staff College. Bhuiyan attended at the Defence Institute of International Legal Studies for peacekeeping at Naval War College, Newport, United States. [1] [5]

Military career

General Bhuiyan with Indian Chief of Army Staff Bikram Singh on 3 October 2012 The Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh with the Army Chief, Bangladesh, Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on October 03, 2012.jpg
General Bhuiyan with Indian Chief of Army Staff Bikram Singh on 3 October 2012
General Bhuiyan presenting a framed emulsion to United States Army General Vincent K. Brooks. Gen. Brooks visits Bangladesh 130819-A-YZ048-059.jpg
General Bhuiyan presenting a framed emulsion to United States Army General Vincent K. Brooks.

Bhuiyan served during the Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict where he was adjutant of 2nd East Bengal Regiment and also company commander Delta for 15th East Bengal Regiment. [6] As major he served as second in command of 11th East Bengal Regiment, platoon commander at Bangladesh Military Academy and deputy adjutant and quartermaster for 72nd Infantry Brigade at Rangpur Cantonment. Bhuiyan was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1992 and served as commanding officer of 11th East Bengal Regiment. He returned to Bangladesh Military academy and served as battalion commander.

In 1995, Bhuiyan was upgraded to colonel and was designated as one of the instructors for the Defence Services Command and Staff College. Bhuiyan later served as colonel staff of 11th Infantry Division under major general Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury and proxy deputy military secretary at army headquarters. He was promoted to brigadier general on 2000 and posted as commander of 105th Infantry Brigade at Jessore Cantonment. Bhuiyan later served as commandant of School of Infantry and Tactics till 2003.

In 2003, Bhuiyan was promoted to major general and was appointed as general officer commanding of 19th Infantry Division and then the 24th Infantry Division. [7] He was then designated as Chief of the General Staff which he served till 2007 during 2006–2008 Bangladesh political crisis. Due to differences with General Mooen U Ahmed, he was removed as CGS and transferred to the Defence Services Command and Staff College as its Commandant. [8] [7] In 2009, he was appointed general officer commanding of 9th Infantry Division. He was also the chairman of Bangladesh Diesel Plant Limited. Bhuiyan was ameliorated to lieutenant general on May 2010 and returned to army headquarters as quartermaster general. [9] [10] [11]

United Nations peacekeeping missions

Bhuiyan served United Nations peacekeeping during the Gulf War in 1991 where he was part of first Bangladesh battalion Bravo company that countered against the Iraqi Armed Forces on Kuwait City. Bhuiyan was awarded the Kuwait Liberation Medal for his distinguished actions. Bhuiyan also served as commander of 2nd Bangladesh Battalion (BANBAT-2) with UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone on 1998 to 1999. [12]

As Chief of Army Staff

Bhuiyan was promoted to general on 25 June 2012 and was appointed of chief of army staff succeeding general Abdul Mubeen [13] [14]

General Bhuiyan in forum with President Abdul Hamid on 2015. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan farewell call on President Abdul Hamid 2015-06-24 (PID-0059082).jpg
General Bhuiyan in forum with President Abdul Hamid on 2015.

He invited Indian army chief general Bikram Singh in 2012's October to visit Bangladesh. [15] In November 2012, he held a reception for veterans of Bangladesh Liberation War. [16] In 2013, he raised the flags of two infantry battalions, the 32nd and 33rd Bangladesh Infantry Regiment in Jalalabad Cantonment. [17] Bhuiyan furthermore hosted commander of the United States Army Pacific command general Vincent Brooks in 2014 during the Pacific Armies Management Seminar and inaugurated Bangladesh Golf Academy in 2015 at the Army Golf Club. [18] [19]

Bhuiyan also 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. [20] His actions put him in direct dissension with major general Tarique Siddique, then military advisor to Prime Minister. Bhuiyan went to leave per retirement on 25 June 2015 and was succeeded by general Belal Shafiul Haque. [20] [21]

Political views

Bhuiyan established a power-supplying firm called Winnievision Power Ltd, which primarily invests in LNG-based power plants. [22]

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". [23] [24] [25] 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. [26] In his speech, he said:

“When the attackers were forced to retreat in the face of the uprising, the Bangladeshi Armed Forces were deployed in the next phase. By using them as shields, sometimes at the forefront, sometimes behind, other forces are continuing to inflict violence, oppression, and torture on this mass movement. The patriotic armed forces should not bear the responsibility for such a situation. The Bangladeshi Armed Forces have never faced off against the people in the past, nor have they pointed guns at them.”

He also uploaded the color red on his Facebook profile in support of the movement on 31 July, 2025. [27] 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. [28]

After the fall of Hasina, in response to a potential military conflict with India, Bhuiyan suggested that the French concept of levee en masse could be introduced. [29]

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. [20] He stated in a social media post:

We have reached a point where urgent decisions regarding RAB are necessary. I would request the army chief to recommend to the government that this institution be disbanded. If that is not possible, then military officers should be permanently withdrawn from RAB. The current army chief has the independence to do this, which previous army chiefs did not have. For this reason, I urge him to complete what we were unable to do.

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. [28] Furthermore, he warned against a "1/11-style" military intervention against the interim government of Professor Yunus.

Honours

Nirapotta Padak.JPG
Dabanal Padak.JPG
Uttoron Padak Medal BAR.png
Independence Day Award Ribbon.jpg
Plaban 1998 Padak.JPG
Mahaplaban 1998 Padak.JPG
Sangsadia Nirbachan 1991.png
Bangladesh Sangsadia Nirbachan 1996.png
Silver Jubilee.gif
Golden Jubilee.JPG
Jestha Padak III.svg
Jestha Padak II.svg
Jestha Padak I.svg
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) ribbon.svg
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) ribbon.svg
ONZ Medal w Sluzbie Pokoju UNIKOM BAR.svg
Nirapotta Padak MedalDabanal Padak MedalUttoron Padak MedalIndependence Day Award Medal
Flood Relief of 1988 MedalGreat Flood Relief of 1998 Medal1991 National Election Medal1996 National Election Medal
Silver Jubilee Medal (25 years of liberation)Golden Jubilee Medal (50th anniversary of East Bengal Regiment)30 years service20 years service
10 years serviceKuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)UNIKOM Medal

Family

Bhuiyan is married to Tahmina Yasmin and the couple has two daughters and one son. [30]

References

Footnotes

  1. Bengali: ইকবাল করিম ভূঁইয়া
  2. SBP, psc

    Citations

    1. 1 2 "Chief of Army Staff". Bangladesh Army. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012.
    2. "Bhuiyan takes over as army chief of Bangladesh". 25 June 2012.
    3. "Armed forces must keep vigil". The Daily Star. UNB. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    4. "Iqbal Karim new army chief". The Daily Star. 8 June 2012.
    5. Khasru, Syed Munir (29 June 2012). "The new army chief, politicians, and elections". The Daily Star.
    6. "Modernisation of armed forces to continue". The Daily Star. 22 November 2012.
    7. 1 2 "New Army Chief In Bangladesh - Research | ORF". Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
    8. "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 1051". The Daily Star. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    9. "2 army officers promoted to lieutenant general". The Daily Star. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    10. "Deals on 100MW rental power". The Daily Star. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    11. "Key changes in top command of army". The Daily Star. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    12. "Human security precedes narrow national interests". 15 September 2014.
    13. "Iqbal Karim new army chief". The Daily Star. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    14. "Bangladesh appoints Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan as new Army Chief". First Post. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
    15. "Indian army chief to visit Bangladesh". The Daily Star. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    16. "Army chief accords reception to decorated freedom fighters". The Daily Star. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    17. "PM raises new infantry division flag". The Daily Star. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    18. "Golf academy opens amid hush-hush". The Daily Star. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    19. "Generals discuss strategy while cruising Padma". The Daily Star. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    20. 1 2 3 "Ex-army chief Iqbal details Ziaul's notorious rise". Daily Sun. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
    21. "Gen Belal takes over as army chief". The Daily Star. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
    22. "Energy & Power Magazine". ep-bd.com. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
    23. "Bangladesh PM leaves country for 'safer place' after resigning". BBC News . 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
    24. "Ex-senior army officers call for withdrawing armed forces from streets". The Business Standard . 4 August 2024.
    25. "Take back armed forces from streets". The Daily Star. 5 August 2024.
    26. "Ex-senior army officers call for withdrawing armed forces from streets". The Business Standard. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    27. "Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina forced to resign: What happened and what's next?". Al Jazeera . 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
    28. 1 2 "Former Army Chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan Reflects on 2024 'Quasi-Revolution'". Voice7 News. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
    29. "Combatting India's manufactured fears". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
    30. "Bangla Army chief keen on better security | Kolkata News". The Times of India . TNN. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
    Preceded by Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army
    25 June 2012 - 25 June 2015
    Succeeded by