Bangladesh army chief pledges support for Yunus' interim government 'come what may'

Bangladesh's army chief has vowed to back the country's interim government "come what may" to help it complete key reforms after the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina, so that elections could be held within the next 18 months. In a rare interview with Reuters, General Waker-uz-Zaman, the Bangladesh Army Chief said the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus had his full support and outlined a pathway to rid the military of political influence. Born out of erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971 after a bloody independence war, Bangladesh came under military rule in 1975, following the assassination of its first prime minister - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - Hasina's father. The country was ruled by a military ruler till 1990 and again a military coup was staged in 2007, which backed a caretaker government that ruled until Hasina took power two years later. However, Zaman who took over as the army chief only weeks before Hasina's ouster said that the Bangladesh Army that he leads, would not intervene politically. He however added in the longer-term, he wants to distance the political establishment from the army, placing directly under the president. "The military as a whole must not be used for political purpose ever," he said adding that a constitutional reform process under the Yunus-led interim government could potentially amend the current arrangement where Army reports to the Prime Minister.

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