Sheikh Hasina has served as the Prime Minister from January 6, 2009, to August 5, 2024. During her rule, eight individuals served as the prime minister's principal secretary. Each of them became controversial for various actions at different times. Instead of fulfilling their state duties, they prioritized the personal wishes of the former Prime Minister, who was ousted in the July-August mass uprising. In return, these former officials were rewarded in various ways. Some were even accused of actively working to bring the Awami League to power before the 1/11.
The eight bureaucrats who served as the principal secretary to the Prime Minister during the Awami League's rule are Md Abdul Karim, Shaikh Md Wahid-Uz-Zaman, Abdus Sobhan Sikder, Abul Kalam Azad, Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Nazibur Rahman, Ahmad Kaikaus, and Md Toffazzel Hossain Miah. As rewards for their loyalty, some of them were appointed chairpersons of state-owned banks. Others were given positions as ministers, advisors, MPs, or ambassadors.
Md Abdul Karim was appointed as the Ministry of Home Affairs secretary on December 7, 2006. At that time, the country was governed by a military-backed caretaker government. It was being discussed in political circles that the Awami League would come to power in the future. So, Abdul Karim built good relations with the top leadership of the Awami League. It is also alleged that, as the Home Secretary, he gave additional benefits to the Awami League in the 9th National Parliament Election, held on December 29, 2008. Therefore, even after Sheikh Hasina came to power, Abdul Karim continued to serve as the Home Secretary for a while. On January 24, 2009, he was appointed the prime minister's principal secretary.
Then, on October 2, 2011, Shaikh Md Wahid-Uz-Zaman became the principal secretary to the Prime Minister. Through direct work with PM Sheikh Hasina, he built a strong position in the administration. As a reward for his loyalty and trust, Sheikh Hasina appointed Shaikh Md Wahid-Uz-Zaman as the chairman of the state-owned Janata Bank on December 8, 2014. He held this position until December 7, 2017. During his tenure, the bank was heavily looted. At one time, Janata Bank was one of the best banks in the country. Its non-performing loans have now exceeded BDT 750 billion, almost 74 percent of the loans it disbursed.
Officials from Janata Bank said that the bank's looting escalated during Shaikh Md Wahid-Uz-Zaman's service period. During this period, a controversy surfaced at the bank concerning approximately BDT 100 billion, involving the AnonTex and Crescent group. Businesspeople and oligarchs affiliated with the AL, such as individuals from Beximco, took out loans amounting to BDT thousands of crore from Janata Bank. The loans provided during that period eventually became non-performing, placing Janata Bank in an existential crisis.
Abdus Sobhan Sikder was designated as the Principal secretary for the Prime Minister's Office on February 11, 2014. Throughout his time in office, he established strong relations with Sheikh Hasina. Following his retirement in May 2016, he was appointed by the government as the Ambassador to Italy. Before becoming Chief Secretary, he held the role of Senior Secretary in the Ministry of Public Administration. In the caretaker administration, Sobhan Sikder held the position of Acting Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping. Subsequently, he assumed the role of secretary for the ministry. It is claimed that during this period, he established positive relations with the leaders and members of the Awami League by providing them with various advantages. Following the Awami League's rise to power, Abdus Sobhan Sikder was designated as the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 8, 2009.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN), argues that corruption and loyalty were viewed as the key qualifications for appointing these bureaucrats as principal secretaries. He said to Bonik Barta, "During that period, they assigned corrupt individuals and party supporters in every position to cater to the personal and factional interests of the former Prime Minister. This was the primary requirement and stipulation for their appointments. As a result, Sheikh Hasina needed to be removed from power. However, the nation experienced significant hardship due to them. The state was not governed for the benefit of the citizens. It was conducted for the personal gains of Sheikh Hasina and the interests of her party, relatives, and group."
The existing mismanagement and financial strain on the nation's power sector are mainly ascribed to Abul Kalam Azad, the former Principal secretary of the Prime Minister's Office and the former power secretary. He was among the most powerful bureaucrats in Sheikh Hasina's administration. He was secretary of the power division from 2009 to 2012. On January 13, 2014, he was designated as the secretary of the Prime Minister's Office. Subsequently, on February 16, 2015, he was designated the prime minister's principal secretary. He also acted as the secretary of the ERD and the coordinator for issues related to SDGs. Under his leadership, the nation's power sector grew significantly reliant on IPP (Independent Power Producers). In recognition of his loyalty to Sheikh Hasina's government, he was selected by the Awami League from the Jamalpur-5 constituency and was elected as an MP in the 12th National Parliament elections. On the evening of September 28, the Detective Police apprehended former principal secretary Abul Kalam Azad in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
On the condition of anonymity, a past Cabinet Secretary told Bonik Barta, "Several individuals who held the position of principal secretary have a close relationship with me. I prefer not to comment on them. Nonetheless, participating in political affairs while still serving is a crime. Certainly, there is no issue with entering politics once you have retired from service."
Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury was one of the most powerful bureaucrats during Sheikh Hasina's autocratic reign. On November 27, 2016, he was designated as the Principal secretary to the Prime Minister. He was recognized as a close ally of HT Imam. Upon his appointment at the Prime Minister's Office, he became a reliable confidant of Sheikh Hasina. Upon retirement, he took on the position of chief coordinator for the National Committee, tasked with celebrating the Birth Centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Following the 12th National Parliament election, once the Sheikh Hasina administration was established, he was designated as an advisor to the Prime Minister. On October 1, former principal secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, an advisor to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was apprehended.
Nazibur Rahman was appointed as the principal secretary to the Prime Minister's Office on January 1, 2018. He occupied this role until December 31, 2019. Before that, he was the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the secretary of the Internal Resources Division. While serving as principal secretary, he faced accusations of accepting placement shares from multiple companies and obtaining various advantages from the stock market. Subsequently, he was designated as the chairman of CMSF. He maintained this role until September 6.
The listing of Best Holdings on the stock market caused widespread controversy. In mid-2019, Nazibur Rahman bought 1 million company shares in the name of his two sons. It is alleged that the shares were given to him as a gift from powerful individuals. After the fall of the Awami League government, the former principal secretary of the Prime Minister's Office was arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police (DB) on October 6.
Ahmad Kaikaus was one of the top officials in the previous government's administration. He joined the Power Division as the Acting Secretary in 2016 and was appointed as the secretary in 2017. It is alleged that Ahmad Kaikaus played a direct role in the agreement to import 1,496 megawatts of electricity from the Indian company Adani. He is also accused of issuing licenses for many unnecessary power plants. Some of these plants were unable to begin production.
The burden of high capacity charges for these private power plants (IPPs) still weighs on the country's power sector. In 2016, while Ahmad Kaikaus was the power secretary, the government approved a master plan for the power sector. Many experts had opposed this plan at the time of its approval. Without reviewing the reality, the plan was based on 35 percent coal and 35 percent LNG for electricity production, leading to its eventual failure. On the contrary, due to the dollar crisis, regular imports of coal and LNG could not be made, and several power plants had to remain idle. He served as the Secretary and Senior Secretary of the Power Division until 2019. On December 31 of that year, he took over as the Principal secretary to the Prime Minister's Office. After taking this position, he built a strong position in the administration. He played a direct role in various important appointments and promotions. After retiring from government service, he joined the World Bank. Later, his appointment was canceled before his tenure ended.
On December 7, 2022, Md Toffazzel Hossain Miah was appointed as the Principal secretary to the Prime Minister. He played an important role in maintaining control over the field administration during the 12th National Parliament election. After the late HT Imam, known as the Awami League's think tank, Md Toffazzel Hossain Miah emerged as one of the key controllers of the field administration.
He played a strong role in maintaining unity among government officials to bring the Awami League back to power. After the Awami League came to power following the 12th election, the government extended his contract for another year on June 26. During the student movements for quota reform and democracy, he was accused of playing a policymaking role as one of Sheikh Hasina's key allies in suppressing and killing students.
Iftekharuzzaman, the Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), told Bonik Barta, "Under Sheikh Hasina's rule, the authoritarian governance system was institutionalized, with the Prime Minister's Office and its principal secretaries at its center. During the 15 years of authoritarian rule, the entire state structure became personality-centric. The whole political and governance stress was monopolized or concentrated in one power. Both the authoritarian Prime Minister and her allies, as well as the controversial Chief Secretaries, are responsible for this. These bureaucrats are not beyond accountability; they should also be brought under accountability."
Having worked against corruption for a long time, Iftekharuzzaman further stated, "It is unfortunate for us that they (the principal secretaries) were rewarded in various ways. This encouraged them to stay within the circle of power. In this way, others were also encouraged. As a result, these bureaucrats worked more to benefit individuals or parties rather than serving the people."