Armed Forces Division
Profile
- Head
- AKM Shamsul Islam
- Role
- Defence Adviser (holding additional charge of AFD)
- Annual budget
- ৳470,000,000
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1978
- Legal basis
- Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 61 (Supreme Command of Defence Services vested in the President); Rules of Business 1996 (Schedule I allocates AFD subjects under the Prime Minister's Office); integrated into PMO in October 1994
AFD is consolidating inter-services command structures following the February 2026 leadership reshuffle, with new PSO Lt Gen Mir Mushfiqur Rahman; the dual-hatted Defence Adviser (also holding AFD charge since April 6) is advancing a multidimensional national security doctrine and civil-military coordination push while Bangladesh maintains 6,359 peacekeepers across 9 active UN missions.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-22 appointment Major army-level reshuffle: Lt Gen Mir Mushfiqur Rahman appointed Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of AFD, replacing Lt Gen S M Kamrul Hasan who was posted as ambassador; Lt Gen M Mainur Rahman appointed Chief of General Staff; Maj Gen Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury named DGFI Director General. ↗↗↗
- 2026-02-23 appointment Lt Gen Mir Mushfiqur Rahman formally took charge as PSO of Armed Forces Division; Chief of Army Staff Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, Chief of Naval Staff Adm M Nazmul Hassan, and Chief of Air Staff ACM Hasan Mahmood Khan attended the ceremony. ↗↗
- 2026-04-06 appointment Cabinet Division notification redesignated Defence Adviser Brig Gen (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam to hold additional charge of the Armed Forces Division alongside his Ministry of Defence responsibilities, per PM Tarique Rahman's directive. ↗↗
- 2026-04-12 statement PM Tarique Rahman addressed a Darbar for military officials at Dhaka Cantonment Auditorium, urging armed forces to uphold national sovereignty and constitutional dignity above party or family loyalty; announced intention to formulate a modern national security strategy and defence policy and to modernise defence capabilities for a credible deterrent. ↗↗↗
- 2026-05-05 policy Defence Adviser AKM Shamsul Islam, addressing the Deputy Commissioners' Conference at Osmani Memorial Auditorium, called for a 'Whole of Government Approach' to national security encompassing cyber, climate, energy, food, and economic threats alongside traditional military risks; directed DCs to strengthen civil-military coordination mechanisms. ↗↗↗
Provenance & notes
AFD was raised in December 1978 as Commander-in-Chief's Secretariat under MoD; renamed Supreme Command Headquarters November 1986; given division status and renamed again 1989; renamed Armed Forces Division on shift to parliamentary system 1991; integrated into PMO October 1994. The PSO holds the rank of lieutenant general and is equivalent to a senior secretary of the Government of Bangladesh. AFD's annual budget of Tk 47 crore is a narrow administrative allocation; operational/procurement budgets for the three services (Tk 38,728 crore) are administered under MoD. The current_head and head_since reflect the April 6, 2026 Cabinet Division notification giving Shamsul Islam additional charge; prior to that date the AFD lacked a designated civilian head after the February 17 new government formation. The budget figure Tk 47 crore = BDT 470,000,000 (1 crore = 10,000,000) sourced from MoF budget portal and corroborated by bdmilitary.com. UN peacekeeping: 6,359 personnel in 9 active missions as of AFD website data (cross-checked against worldpopulationreview.com April 2026 figure of 5,568 -- discrepancy likely reflects AFD's tri-service total vs UN DPO Army-only count; AFD figure used as primary source for tri-service total). staff_count not publicly disclosed at sanctioned-post level.
Sources
- https://afd.gov.bd/about-afd
- https://afd.gov.bd/history-of-afd
- https://afd.gov.bd/un-peacekeeping/bangladesh-in-un-peace-operation
- https://afd.gov.bd/un-peacekeeping/position-of-bangladesh-in-un-peace-operation
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Division
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/375172
- https://www.dainikshiksha.com/en/news/shamsul-islam-given-charge-of-armed-forces-division-367641
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/363142
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/403918/major-changes-in-army-top-brass
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/government-affairs/403964/lt-gen-mushfiqur-rahman-assumes-role-as-pso-of
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/pm-tarique-asks-armed-forces-stay-above-politics-uphold-sovereignty-4149831
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/376984
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/384436
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/defence-adviser-directs-dcs-boost-civil-military-synergy-people-centric-armed-forces
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/budget/budget-fy26-defence-ministry-allocated-tk40698cr-slightly-down-last-fy-1158476
- https://mof.portal.gov.bd/site/budget_mof/babc0336-0593-4cd6-a252-37d3d804a8a4/Armed-Forces-Division
- https://en.parbattanews.com/lt-gen-mir-mushfiqur-takes-over-as-new-pso-of-armed-forces-division/