Staff Correspondent

Senior retired armed forces officers on Sunday called for withdrawal of the army personnel from the streets and return them to barracks.

Former Chief of Army Staff Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan made the call while reading out a statement on behalf of the retired officers during a press conference at RAOWA Club in the capital’s Mohakhali DOHS.

Around 30 retired officers including former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen M Nuruddin Khan, former Maj Gen M Azizur Rahman, Maj Gen Abu Kaiser Fazlul Kabir, Maj Gen Jamil D Ahsan, Bir Protik, Maj Gen Rezzaqul Haider, Maj Gen Muhammad Abdul Matin, Maj Gen Mujahid Uddin, Maj Gen Abul Kalam Humayun Kabir, Maj Gen Mahbubul Alam, Maj Gen Ruhul Amin, Maj Gen ATM Shahidul Islam, Brig Gen M Sakhawat Hossain and Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan attended the press conference.

Iqbal Karim said if the country’s policy makers had not become mindless and heartless, then the biggest, saddest and most tragic killings in the history of Bangladesh would not have happened in the last few weeks.

Countless people have lost their limbs while many teenagers and youths have become blind during the recent attacks and counter attacks, he said and added that the helpless citizens are not getting necessary and emergency treatment.

Furthermore, block raids and acts of terrorism are ongoing in the country while thousands of innocent teenagers and youths have been arrested in false cases or are on the run, he said.

“Noticing all these as guardians, we cannot avoid our responsibilities relating to these unfortunate demises of hundreds of children, teenagers and young brave souls,” he said.

Ending acts of discrimination, separation, and oppression was the main pledge of the War of Liberation, but these ideals have gone in vain, leaving the country in a terrible state at all levels, he said.

The situation has gone beyond the tolerance level of the majority of people who are at the bottom of the society, said the former army chief.

“Our economic situation and its management are very fragile, and to remedy this, people are not shying away from sacrificing themselves today,” Iqbal Karim said.

Peace and law and order cannot be restored in society if those responsible for pushing the country into such a difficult situation are not tried in a fair, transparent, and credible manner, he said.