Army chief urges coordination, neutrality on polls

Staff Reporter :

Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman on Wednesday called on troops to uphold strong inter-agency coordination, professionalism and political neutrality to ensure a peaceful, fair and credible national election scheduled for February 12.

The army chief made the remarks during visits to Patuakhali and Khulna, where he reviewed the law and order situation ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election and inspected army personnel deployed in aid of the civil administration, according to a press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During the visits, General Waker-Uz-Zaman observed field-level activities of the troops, provided operational instructions and held meetings with officials of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies.

In Patuakhali, he met senior military officers, divisional and district administrators and law enforcement officials at the deputy commissioner’s conference room.

He later chaired a similar meeting at the Khulna divisional commissioner’s office.
Discussions at both meetings focused on strengthening inter-institutional coordination and finalising security measures to ensure that the election is conducted in a peaceful, neutral and orderly manner.

The army chief urged all personnel to perform their duties with professionalism, discipline and patience, while maintaining a citizen-friendly approach.

Senior military officials, including the General Officer Commanding of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, the GOCs of the 55th and 7th Infantry Divisions, and area commanders from Jashore and Barishal, accompanied him during the visits. Officers from Army Headquarters and the Barishal and Jashore areas were also present.

Divisional commissioners, senior officials from the civil administration and law enforcement agencies, as well as media representatives, attended the meetings.