The Public Administration Ministry issued a notification on Tuesday in this regard.
According to the notification, Azad will enjoy the rank and status of a government secretary during his tenure.
He was appointed BSS MD and chief editor on February 3, 2014 for a three-year term, which was later extended till February, 2020.
Prior to joining the country's national news agency, Azad worked as the Prime Minister's Press Secretary from 2009 to January 2014.
Earlier, he served as the Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC.
Upon returning from Washington DC in 2002, Azad was made the Press Secretary to Awami League President and the then Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Sheikh Hasina.
Azad made his debut as a journalist in the esteemed Bangla newspaper, the Daily Ittefaq, in 1973 and worked there for a long time.