President Abdul Hamid has appointed Lieutenant General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq, Principal Staff Officer, ndc, psc as the new Chief of Army Staff.

The President, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, signed the order on Wednesday.

He will succeed General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, who goes into retirement on June 25.

Born in December 1958, Lieutenant General Belal was commissioned in Armoured Corps on 18 June 1978 from Bangladesh Military Academy. For his outstanding performance in the Military Academy, he was adjudged as the best all round cadet of his batch and was awarded with “Sword of Honour”.

Lieutenant General Belal obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dhaka University and Master Degree on ‘Defense Studies’ from National University Bangladesh and Masters in Philosophy from Bangladesh University of Professionals. Presently he is doing PhD on Regional Connectivity under the same university.

Lieutenant General Belal’s military education includes a variety of training courses, both at home and abroad on strategic studies, tactics, military science, weapon systems, UN Staff Procedure etc. He is a graduate of Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur, Bangladesh and also Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavanworth, Kansas, USA. He attended National Defence Course and Capstone Course at NDC, Bangladesh.

In a distinguished career spanning almost 37 years, Lieutenant General Belal has hold a variety of command, staff and instructional appointments. As a staff he served as the ADC to the Hon’ble President of Bangladesh, Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and Chief of Staff of an Infantry Division.

As an Instructor he served in Bangladesh Military Academy and as a Faculty including Chief Instructor in Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur. He commanded two Armour Units, three Brigades (One Armour and two Infantry) and two Divisions. He also served as Military Secretary and Adjutant General of Bangladesh Army. Besides, the General was Commandant of Bangladesh Military Academy and Armoured Corps Centre and School and had a tour of duty as Director General of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).

Lieutenant General Belal was a member of the pioneer Group of Officers sent to UN Peace Keeping Mission from Bangladesh. He was an observer in UNIIMOG (Iraq) in 1988/89 and Deputy Force Commander of UNMEE (Ethiopia and Eritrea) in 2006/2007.

He is a widely travelled person and a keen golfer. He is happily married to Shoma Huq and the couple is blessed with a daughter and a son. He is also the younger brother of Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq.

LY/QH