Over 150 ex-military officers to work for AL during polls

More than 150 former officers of the armed forces have put their weight behind the ruling Awami League in its race to parliament as Bangladesh is set to head to the polls on December 30, report agencies.

The former army, air force and navy officers met the party's chief Sheikh Hasina at the Ganabhaban and pledged to work for it on Tuesday.

They greeted the prime minister with flowers and posed for photos with her.

The retired officers will bring "more dynamism to the election activities" so that Hasina can win the polls, said retired Major General Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the security affairs adviser to the prime minister.

The Awami League expressed optimism that it will be able to form the government for the third consecutive term, securing a victory in the election.

The former defence officers, who have pledged to make the party's dream come true, include 109 from the army, 18 from the air force and 19 from the navy.

Recently, 10 such former officers joined the Kamal Hossain-led Gono Forum ahead of the election, but no-one of them were of high ranks.

The officers, who expressed support for Hasina, include retired Brigadier General Nasir Uddin Ahmed, who had been a director of the military intelligence agency DGFI during the rule of HM Ershad. He had also been involved with Ershad's Jatiya Party after retirement.

Retired Lieutenant General Abdul Wadud is a former principal staff officer to the prime minister in the Armed Forces Division. He had also worked as the chief engineer at the army and as an assistant director at Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory. After retirement in 2013, he joined Summit Group as its managing director.

Retired Lieutenant General Molla Fazle Akbar was made the director general of the DGFI in 2009. He later became the commandant of the National Defence College.

Retired Lieutenant General Sabbir Ahmed became the general officer commanding of the Army Training and Doctrine Command in 2015. He was appointed the chief of general staff at the Army Headquarters the same year. He had earlier worked as the GOC of the 24th Infantry Division and area commander of Chattogram.

Rear Admiral Abul Kalam Mohammad Azad was co-accused with Hasina in the frigate corruption case that started during the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami government in 2002.