Abdul Aziz Pasha (died 2 June 2001) was a Bangladesh army officer who was convicted for involvement in the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Career

Bangladesh Liberation war

Pasha had fought for the Independence of Bangladesh during Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971. He was the commanding officer of the 1st Field Artillery Battery, which was also known as the Mujib Battery. Pasha's companions from the war described him as "an easy going and laid-back" person.

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

On 15 August 1975 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the president of Bangladesh was assassinated during a military coup. Pasha was one of the 12 self-confessed assassins. He and Risaldar Moslemuddin gunned down Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's wife

Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib ( bn, শেখ ফজিলাতুন্নেছা মুজিব; 8 August 1930 – 15 August 1975), also known by her daak naam Renu ( bn, রেনু), was the wife of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Presiden ...

Sheikh Jamal Sheikh Jamal (28 April 1954 – 15 August 1975) was the second son of Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. Early life Jamal was born at Tungipara, Gopalganj on 28 April 1954. His father was She ...

and his wife Rosy, and Sheikh Kamal's wife Sultana. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the new government headed by Lieutenant General

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...

, appointed Aziz as the first secretary to the Bangladesh embassy in Rome. He was arrested in Dhaka for his role in the 17 June 1980 attempted coup in Bangladesh. He was freed after agreeing to turn state witness. He was then posted to Nairobi, Kenya. He was in Zimbabwe when the Bangladesh Awami League government recalled him to Dhaka. He refused to return and as a result was dismissed his from the foreign service. He applied for and received political asylum in Zimbabwe. On 8 November 1998 Pasha, along with 15 other defendants, was sentenced to death for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 14 December 2000, the Bangladesh High Court confirmed his death sentence.

Death

Pasha died on 2 June 2001 in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

Pension

The Awami League government which came to power in 1996 dismissed him from government service. When Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power in 2001 they changed the government decision to show that he retired from service. This entitled his widow, Mahfuza Pasha, to his government pension.

Legacy

After the assassination of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Pasha purchased the house of Jitendra Lal Basu in Sreebari, Ghior upazila,

Manikganj Manikganj is a district situated in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Manikganj is one of the green and pollution free towns in Bangladesh. The recent urbanization and highway built joining Dhaka and Shingair Upazilla has given it an outstanding road ...

. His house was seized by police in 1997 when an arrest warrant was issued for him. His house was bought by his brother in 2001 after he died. On 31 January 2010 the house was vandalized and burned down by activists of Bangladesh Awami League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasha, Abdul Aziz 2001 deaths Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman People convicted of murder by Bangladesh Bangladeshi lieutenant colonels