Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Qadir (2 January 1929 – April 1971) was an officer of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

serving in Chittagong, during the tumultuous chaos that preceded the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

. He was involved in the Bengali independence movement and was arrested by the Pakistan Army in April 1971. He was presumed to have been murdered and in 2008, his body was found in a mass grave.

Biography

Abdul Qadir was born on 2 January 1929 in Rangpur, in what was then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

). He was a son of Abul Hossain Miah, a businessman. He joined the Corps of Engineers of the

in 1949. He graduated from Army School of Engineering in 1962 and three years later completed an engineer officers' career course in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. He finished graduate studies at the Physics Department of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. In 1966 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was made the chief of Oil and Gas Development Corporation of East Pakistan in 1970.

Death

Qadir was sympathetic to the Bengali independence movement and after the start of the

, he assisted revolters by supplying them with explosives and assisted groups in organizing the movement. He was arrested on 17 April 1971 by the Pakistan Army from his residence in

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

. He then disappeared in custody. His body was found in a mass grave in Chittagong in 2008. The site of the mass grave was located by Nadeem Qadir, his son. Qair's body was exhumed from the mass grave and buried in

Qadirabad Cantonment Quadirabad Cantonment is a cantonment located in Natore, Rajshahi division, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, wit ...

Natore Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district. History Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...

Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi District ...

, Bangladesh, with full military honours. The cantonment was later named after him. A stamp was issued with his image by the Government of Bangladesh.

Personal life

He was married to Hasna Hena Qadir. She was one of the founders of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, an organisation that has been demanding trial of war criminals from the Bangladesh Liberation War. His son, Nadeem Qadir, is the press minister of the Bangladesh High Commission in the United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qadir, Abdul 1929 births 1971 deaths Bangladeshi military personnel People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War Mukti Bahini personnel