From 1975 to 1977, he served as the "Zonal Martial Law Administrator" (the equivalent of a state governor in the military-backed government headed by President Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem) for Dhaka Division.

[5][6] Despite ample opportunities, Dastgir refused to do politics in uniform and requested to be relieved of his role as ZMLA of Dhaka Division to enable him to focus on his military duties just as the Chief of Army Staff General Ziaur Rahman took over as President of Bangladesh.

[7] During this time he also served as his country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

It was at a reception at his house in Bangkok, Thailand that he broached the idea of an association of South Asian nations in the ASEAN model to the Bhutanese foreign minister, and this started discussions which led to the proclamation of SAARC (the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) by Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman, after extensive diplomatic groundwork done by Dastgir's brother-in-law then Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador Humayun Rasheed Choudhury[8][9] who went on to become the president of the 41st UN General Assembly.

In 1984 he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting in Papua New Guinea, and served as the leader of the Bangladesh delegation to the Tenth Asian and Pacific Labour Ministers Conference held in Melbourne in October 1985.

As the country's Permanent Representative to the OIC, Dastgir played a key role in the election of Bangladeshi candidate Ambassador Mohammad Mohsin as the Deputy Secretary General of the organisation.

[16] During his tenure to Saudi Arabia, Dastgir was instrumental in the decision of the Government of Bangladesh to send a contingent of troops, consisting of the First East Bengal Regiment (his own battalion) as part of Operation Desert Storm.

At this time Dastgir gave an interview to the Voice of America and spoke about regional security, including the steps taken by the Saudi Government to ensure the safety of Bangladesh nationals affected by the first Gulf War.