In November 1975, Dastgir was given the additional responsibility to serve as the first Zonal Martial Law Administrator (ZMLA) (i.e., the de facto military governor) for Dhaka Division, one of the four administrative provinces of the country. In 1977 he founded the Rifles Public School at BDR Headquarters and this is now one of the leading academic institutions in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. ZMLA Dastgir headed a review of the tea industry and the Dastgir Tea Commission (as his review came to be known) forgave outstanding bank loans taken by Bangladesh tea gardens before independence in 1971 – thereby reviving the tea industry in the country.