The government has removed the army chief 18 months ahead of his scheduled retirement.

It has appointed Major General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury as the new army chief for a three-year term with effect from June 16, a defence ministry announcement said on Tuesday night.

Maj. Gen. Chowdhury has also been promoted to the rank of Lt Gen. effective from the same date. He is currently serving as Bangladesh's ambassador to the UAE. Incumbent Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Harun-Ar-Rashid has been retired with effect from the day his successor is due to take over.

General Rashid will, however, get all retirement benefits as per rule, the announcement added.
The newly-elected army chief was earlier superceded when the incumbent was appointed on December 25, 2000.

Gen. Chowdhury, who is on the active army list, was called back to Dhaka from the UAE for consultations on Monday. The retiring army chief also returned from a nine-day trip to China.

Gen. Chowdhury held a number of important staff and command positions. He served as the Divisional Commander of Bogra and also was commander of the Bangladesh contingent in the Gulf War in 1991.

Hailing from Sylhet, Gen. Chowdhury opted to serve as an envoy when he was superceded and was then appointed ambassador to the UAE. The BNP-led government has picked both the navy and air force chiefs from among officers who were superceded during the Awami League government.

Gen. Rashid, a meritorious officer, hails from Hathazari of Chittagong. He first joined the Pakistan Air Force and left it when he was not allowed to fly. Later, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy in 1970 as a member of the War Commission on September 6 that year.

He was awarded the Bir Pratik medal for gallantry for his outstanding bravery during the War of Independence.