Though it was Sheikh Hasina who appointed Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman as the army chief of Bangladesh in June, Zaman decided not to return the favour as he informed Hasina that she no longer enjoyed the army's support.
The crucial conversation that led to Hasina fleeing Dhaka for India happened on Sunday night. Zaman had a meeting with his generals on the crucial night before he decided that troops would not open fire on civilians to enforce a curfew, Reuters quoted two serving army officers.
Gen. Zaman then reached out to Hasina's office to inform the Prime Minister that she no longer had the army's support and would not be implementing the lockdown.
Though Army spokesman Lt. Col. confirmed the Sunday evening discussions to Reuters, he described as a regular meeting to take updates after any disturbance.
The widespread protests rocking the country, which claimed the lives of at least 241 people, had created a lot of uneasiness within the troops, which forced Gen Zaman to take the decision. "That is what probably (put) pressure on the chief of army staff because the troops are out and they are seeing what is happening," Retired Brig. Gen. M. Sakhawat Hossain told Reuters.
Zaman, who is related to Hasina by marriage, addressed hundreds of uniformed officers in a town hall meeting where he said that lives had to be protected. He also called on his officers to show patience, army spokesman Chowdhury later told reporters. This was the first hint that Bangladesh's army would not forcefully suppress the violent demonstrations.
Retired senior soldiers such as Brig. Gen. Mohammad Shahedul Anam Khan was among those who defied the curfew on Monday and took to the streets. "We were not stopped by the army," said Khan, a former infantry soldier. "The army has done what he had promised the army would do."
Interestingly, reports claim that Indian government officials had alerted Hasina about the potential dangers associated with the appointment of General Waker-Uz-Zaman as Army Chief in June of last year. Despite these warnings, Hasina moved forward with the appointment.
The Army's decision to release opposition leader Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also hints that Islamist groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatrashibir, may have influenced Zaman.
