The parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry at its yesterday's meeting maintained that the way Mustafiz was brought back from leave preparatory to retirement (LPR) and appointed as the chief of army staff by the immediate past Awami League (AL) government was quite irregular and unlawful. The AL government later promoted him to the rank of a full-fledged general before his retirement on December 18, 2000.

Mustafiz was brought back to service on January 18, 1997, one day before the expiry of his LPR. He was then appointed in different important positions before being named the army chief.

"All of it was done illegally and from political considerations, although the government circular said it was for public interest," Lt Gen (Rtd) Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of the committee, who is also a former army chief, told newspersons after the meeting.

Mahbub said the meeting, held at the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Bhaban, condemned such 'unprecedented appointment.' High officials of the ministry and the armed forces attending the meeting also judged the appointment as illegal, he added.

Referring to Mustafiz' joining in politics after retirement, Mahbub said though the existing organogram of the country's army did not support the rank of a four-star general, the promotion too was given from political interests.

Asked what public interests did the decision to strip Mustafiz of his rank carry, Mahbub said it would correct a wrong done by the previous government. "We don't want repetition of such wrongdoing in future," he added.

The meeting was originally scheduled to discuss some alleged irregularities in construction of the central mosque and the Heroes' Gate at Dhaka Cantonment during Mustafiz' tenure, on which the committee earlier asked the army chief to report back.

The committee reviewed implementation of some of its earlier recommendations and, in course of the meeting, it was informed that the Armed Forces Division was preparing a compatible defence policy in line with the changed world order.