Bangladesh's DGFI chief promoted

Kolkata, July 4 Major General Mohammed Saiful Alam, the chief of Bangladesh's Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), has been promoted as Lieutenant General and asked to take charge as Quarter-Master General (QMG) of the countrys army.

Lt Gen Shafiuddin Ahmed was QMG until recently when he took over as army chief replacing Gen Aziz Ahmed who retired last month.

Many see Lt Gen Alam, a highly rated professional soldier, as a potential future army chief.

Maj Gen Tabrez Shams Chowdhury has been asked to take charges as DGFI chief in place of Lt Gen Alam.

He is presently GOC, 11 infantry division.

The DGFI, like Pakistan's ISI, is tasked to handle both military and external intelligence in Bangladesh while the National Security & Intelligence (NSI) handles domestic intelligence.

But during Bangladesh's long period of military or quasi-military rule, the DGFI has also handled domestic political intelligence.

Lt Gen Alam and his immediate predecessors Maj Gen Saiful Abedin and Maj Gen (now Lt Gen) Akbar Hossain have helped DGFI extricate itself from controversial political roles during the 2006-8 military-backed caretaker government and helped it find a stronger professional moorings.

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