The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh has released its final report, and the findings are damning. The document implicates current Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman in the systematic disappearance of citizens under the previous government.
This is Bangladesh's post-revolution accountability test. The army chief who helped facilitate the transition of power after Sheikh Hasina's ouster now stands accused of participating in the very repression that sparked the uprising.
A billion people aren't a statistic - they're a billion stories. For the families of the disappeared - mothers who don't know if their sons are alive, children who haven't seen their fathers in years - this report is validation. Their loved ones didn't just vanish. They were taken.
The findings
The Commission's report, published on the government portal coied.portal.gov.bd, documents a pattern of enforced disappearances under the Sheikh Hasina government that ruled Bangladesh from 2009 until mass protests forced her from power in 2024.
Enforced disappearance - when security forces take someone into custody and then deny holding them - became a tool of political repression. Opposition activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens critical of the government would be picked up by plainclothes operatives. Their families would search hospitals, police stations, and military facilities. Officials would deny any knowledge.
Sometimes the disappeared would reappear weeks or months later, often bearing signs of torture. Sometimes they would be formally arrested and charged. Sometimes their bodies would turn up. And sometimes they would never be seen again.
The Commission now names names, including that of General Waker-Uz-Zaman, who was serving in senior military positions during the period when many disappearances occurred.
The army chief's role
General Waker-Uz-Zaman became a national figure in 2024 when he played a crucial role in the transition after mass protests toppled . Many Bangladeshis viewed him as a stabilizing force, someone who helped prevent a violent power struggle.
