Former Bangladesh army chief Gen Aziz Ahmed said the travel ban imposed on him and his family could have been done to embarrass or discredit the government.
During a local television channel interview on Tuesday (21 May), he criticised the allegations brought against him, saying those were irrelevant.
Aziz vehemently denied any involvement in the accusations brought against him and asserted that he possesses all the necessary documentation to prove his innocence regarding allegations of lobbying for his brother.
“I challenge anyone to provide evidence implicating me in aiding my brother to evade accountability for criminal activity in Bangladesh during my tenure as Chief of Army Staff from June 2018 to June 2021 and as Chief of Border Guard Bangladesh for four years from 2012,” he said.
In February 2021, an Al-Jazeera news report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ levied various allegations, including corruption, against then-army chief Aziz. Both the army headquarters and the Foreign Ministry refuted the report, labelling it as ‘false’ and ‘slanderous.’
Aziz, at the time, said the claims made against him in the Al Jazeera documentary were fabricated, reiterating his stance today.
Earlier, the US said General Aziz Ahmed and his family were ineligible for entry to the US. The public designation came over allegations of “significant corruption,” with a press statement saying Aziz’s actions had contributed to undermining “Bangladesh’s democratic institutions and the public’s faith in public institutions and processes.”
“Aziz Ahmed engaged in significant corruption by interfering in public processes while helping his brother evade accountability for criminal activity in Bangladesh,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in the statement.
