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Editor’s Note
Bangladesh is currently in a relatively unstable condition, with a dichotomy of views among various groups promoting disharmony. Amid such an environment is the controversial issue of creating a humanitarian corridor from Bangladesh to Myanmar. The Americans want it; however, the project triggers different responses among the power centres within Bangladesh. The author offers some insights into the current political uncertainty that grips the country.
For some time now, differences between the Army and the Yunus administration in Bangladesh have been festering. They are now out in the open. Under pressure from the Bangladesh Army on the conduct of elections by the end of the year and the creation of a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus is reportedly ‘thinking about’ resigning. While Yunus may have presented this thought as a course of political retreat rather than an actual resignation, the deeper malaise affecting Bangladesh today is US interference in domestic politics and, more significantly, the creation of divisions within the Army.
The arrival of an advance USAF team to Dhaka (9 May 2025) has set the cat among the pigeons and could be the precursor for a joint operation to help the Arakan Army in its fight against the Myanmar junta. The Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman remarked (22 May 2025) that Bangladesh should have elections by December 2025, if not earlier, and has clearly sent out signals that differences between the Army and the Yunus administration can no longer be contained. The only question is, will the US support Yunus if push comes to shove?
The present crisis sees tanks and armoured personnel carriers of the Bangladesh Army on the streets of Dhaka and other parts of the country, maintaining law and order. Amidst the evolving political turmoil, the Chief Adviser has blamed India for the prevailing instability. Meeting with some political leaders in Dhaka recently, Yunus apparently stated that India was trying to destabilise Bangladesh with a view to re-imposing its hegemony on the region. Yunus is quoted by his Press Secretary as having said that there were “relentless efforts to destabilise Bangladesh”, both “internally and externally”, thereby leading to a “war-like situation”. The battle lines have thus been drawn between the Chief Adviser and the Army Chief.
Army Chief tries to remove PSO Hassan
The present situation has arisen because the Army Chief attempted to remove the Principal Staff Officer in the Armed Forces Division (AFD), which is directly under the Chief Adviser, Mohammad Yunus. The officer in question is Lt. Gen. Kamrul Hassan, who heads the AFD. But Yunus blocked the Army Chief’s order with the US Charge d’Affaires standing by the Chief Adviser. That the US is very much in the picture is evidenced by Gen. Hassan visiting the US Embassy in Dhaka for discussions over the proposed ‘humanitarian corridor’ which Bangladesh intends to use to help civilians in the Rakhine State as also arm the Arakan Army in its operations against the Myanmar Army.
Clearly, the US is promoting politics within the Bangladesh Army at the cost of stability in the country. Incidentally, on 11 May, Gen Zaman cancelled a scheduled visit to Honolulu, Hawaii, on the instructions of Yunus. Zaman was to have taken part in the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium and Exposition-25. That same day, Lt. Gen. Hassan went to meet the US Charge d’Affaires in Dhaka, Tracey Ann Jacobson, where the two were closeted for nearly two hours. That very day, Gen. Zaman moved to remove Lt. Gen. Hassan for taking a divergent view on the “humanitarian corridor” to Myanmar.
Tensions continue to persist in the higher echelons of the Bangladesh Army, even as Gen Zaman continues to enjoy the support of a significant number of General Officers Commanding (GOCs). Lt. Gen. Hassan continues to attend the office. It appears that Yunus is attempting to constrain the workspace of the Army Chief by intervening in administrative matters pertaining to the hierarchy. Meanwhile, Gen Zaman met the “all-important” Savar-based 9th Infantry Division GOC Maj Gen Moin Khan and the Chief of General Staff, Lt Gen Mizanur Rahman Shamim, just before his scheduled visit to the US.
Politics over the ‘Humanitarian Corridor’
The reason Zaman wanted action taken against Hassan was that the latter was in favour of the ‘humanitarian corridor’ as opposed to the three service Chiefs, as will be seen below. What is this corridor, and what is its purpose? A meeting was held late at night on 16 May 2025 between the three Service Chiefs and Khalilur Rahman, National Security Adviser (NSA), but it remained inconclusive as differences persisted among them. Rahman, a US citizen, is the brain behind and strongly supports the idea of a ‘humanitarian corridor’. The three Service Chiefs – Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, and Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan – have strong reservations about the corridor, while NSA Rahman wants to proceed. Khalilur Rahman played a key hand in keeping the US CDA Ann Jacobson in the loop.
Lt. Gen. Hassan, who is said to share NSA Rahman’s thoughts on the corridor, was missing from the meeting. The reasons for this are apparent. The Army Chief did not want him present. The Army’s Directorate General of Military Operations had earlier identified a 64-km route between Silkhali and Naikhongchari for the corridor. This route is near the 10th Infantry Division’s Ramu headquarters, through which supplies will be despatched across the border into Rakhine State.
The proposed humanitarian corridor was discussed during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ March visit to Dhaka and aims at channelling UN-led aid through Bangladesh into Rakhine. The initiative, if it takes off, will provide a lifeline to starving civilians and create conditions for the eventual repatriation of Rohingya refugees, a long-standing goal for Dhaka. Md Touhid Hossain, the Foreign Adviser, has emphasized that Bangladesh’s support for the corridor is conditional on the creation of a “conducive environment” for the distribution of aid, signalling an awareness of the risks given the fragile situation in the region.
Selection of Route Alignment
Within the Bangladesh Army, Brig Gen Mohammad Alimul Amin from the Directorate of Operations and Plans (O&P) played a key role in identifying the Silkhali-to-Naikhongchari route. Notably, on 23 March 2025, Brig. Gen. Amin had met a three-member team of US officials led by the Embassy’s Military Attaché, Lt. Col. Michael E De Michiei, Lt. Col. Hunter Gallacher (from the Office of Defense Cooperation) and Major Ian Leonard at the AFD. Significantly, the O&P Directorate functions under the AFD headed by Lt. Gen. Kamrul Hassan.
In April this year, the Bangladesh Army identified a large parcel of land in Silkhali as a depot for supplies that would be moved to the Arakan Army ahead of the Arakan Army’s military operations against the Myanmar military. As the road network in the Silkhali-Naikhongchari route was in poor condition, it will “have to be freshly laid” for smooth despatch of supplies across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Besides, there are reports that the Arakan Army had heavily mined the territory (opposite Naikhongchari) under their control in the Rakhine State. Therefore, it is likely that operationalisation of this stretch will be via Shamlapur, Balukhali, Ghumdhum, Ukhia and onward to Naikhongchari (which is in Bandarban district) from where Ramu, the 10th Infantry Division’s headquarters, is merely 14 km.
Dichotomy of views within the Armed Forces
Lt. Gen. Hassan and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) are part of the group that views the humanitarian corridor as requiring a “decisive response” and seeks to play a “more active and comprehensive role in securing the border, ensuring stability, and ensuring the nation’s sovereignty”. Furthermore, this group claims that the “only way to effectively address the ongoing border security challenges, maintain a stable humanitarian corridor and reduce the burden on the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is declaring the Bangladesh-Myanmar border a Military Operations Zone” and seeks to “take full control of the border and secure it effectively”. This would enable the proper distribution of resources and freeing up the BGB for other important security tasks, including the managing the border with India”.
NSA Rahman pushing US line on support to Arakan Army
Earlier, in the third week of March, under NSA Khalilur Rahman’s orders, two trucks from the 10th Infantry Division ventured into the Rakhine State, near positions held by Myanmar’s junta forces. Their mission was to supply the Arakan Army with weapons. However, when junta forces opened artillery fire, the soldiers of the 10th Infantry Division were forced to abort the mission and retreat. Known to senior Bangladesh Army officials, including Lt. Gen. Hasan, the matter was hushed up due to pressure from Khalilur Rahman. The NSA visited the 10th Infantry Division HQ in mid-April 2025 to be briefed on the operation. This was followed by the arrival of the advance team of USAF and State Department officials, who will receive important cargo presumably bound for Teknaf, from where the operation to supply the Arakan Army will occur.
The prevailing security situation along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border is an outcome of the geopolitical and geostrategic measures that the US seeks to put in place by employing the Bangladesh Army in clandestinely backing the Arakan Army and other People’s Defence Forces in Myanmar.
The US clearly wants the Bangladesh government to follow its lead on the corridor and support the Arakan Army. The danger is that Washington is also playing with fire by creating dissension within the Bangladesh Army. It has implications for internal stability and cohesiveness within the military, which is anyways on fragile ground. The fallout of any actions within Bangladesh will have an impact on regional security and India. That is why these developments merit attention and careful scrutiny. As Chief Adviser Yunus balances the US and the armed forces, he faces an uphill task in maintaining stability in the country. At the same time, the Bangladesh Army Chief needs to oversee his back if he is not to meet the same fate as his former boss, Sheikh Hasina!
Dr. Bhashyam Kasturi
