Nawazesh Uddin (24 July 1945 - 23 September 1981) was a Bangladeshi army officer who was executed for his alleged involvement in the

assassination of Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman, the 7th president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by a faction of officers of Bangladesh Army, on 30 May 1981, in the south-eastern port city of Chittagong. Rahman went to Chittagong to arbitrate in a clash between the local leader ...

Career

In 1959, Nawazesh joined 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 ...

as a student apprentice and was commissioned in the 22nd Baluch Regiment in Sialkot, Punjab in 1966. He was a captain and was stationed in Rangpur when the 1971

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 ...

began. On 24 April 1971, the prime minister of the government in exile,

Tajuddin Ahmed Tajuddin Ahmad ( bn, তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberatio ...

, stated that Nawazesh and his troops revolted against Pakistan. During the liberation war, Nawazesh was a sub-sector commander in sector 6, in Sahebganj. On 3 November 1975, General

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom ( bn, খালেদ মোশাররফ; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi military officer known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Khaled was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh ...

, Lt. Colonel

A.T.M. Haider Abu Taher Mohammad Haider, Bir Uttom (12 January 1942 – 7 November 1975) was a Bangladesh Army officer and recipient of Bir Uttom, the second highest military award in Bangladesh. He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War as the second-in-c ...

and Colonel

Nazmul Huda Nazmul Huda (born 6 January 1943) is a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. He served as the minister of information (1991–1996) and the minister of communications (2001–2006) of the government of Bangladesh. He was a 4-term Jatiya Sangsad ...

ousted the Mostaq Ahmed regime and placed Ziaur Rahman under house arrest. Before Zia was arrested, he called his friend Lt. Colonel (retired)

Abu Taher Abu Taher ( bn, আবু তাহের) (14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was a Bengali military serviceman, who served in the Pakistan Army, and later in BDF. He crossed into India around early August and reported to the Indian autho ...

and urged him to do something. In response, Taher and his clandestine group within the army, the Biplobi Shainik Sangstha launched the 7 November coup to free Zia from imprisonment. At the time, Nawazesh was the commanding officer of the 10 Bengal Regiment. He received a phone call from Zia, who instructed Nawazesh to ensure the safety of Khaled Mosharraf and his companions. Nawazesh climbed on top of a jeep and ordered his troops not to harm Khaled Mosharraf. However, his troops were defiant and threatened to kill him if he tried to stop them. Fearing for his life, Nawazesh did nothing to stop Captain Jamil and Captain Asad, who ordered their troops to kill Khaled Mosharraf, A.T.M. Haider and Nazmul Huda. After these officers were killed, Nawazesh informed Zia of the incident, "I am sorry sir, situation got out of hand". Zia asked Nawazesh to preserve the bodies of Khaled Mosharraf, A.T.M. Haider and Nazmul Huda.

Death

Following the

on 30 May 1981, a number of army officers were arrested for their alleged involvement, including Nawazesh. While he was detained, Nawazesh was tortured. He was court martialled and executed on 23 September 1981 in Comilla Prison. In his last letter to his wife, he wrote:

Dear Momy (Momtaz Nawazesh) Take hundreds of millions of affection, love and caresses from me. Ask everybody to pray for me so that Allah sends me to Heaven. I am requesting you all to bury my body on the eastern side of my father's shrine. My last entreaty to Allah is to keep you all happy. Give my unlimited affection and blessings to Rony, Rosy, Happy and Babu. I will always pray for you. Blessings and greeting to you all. Yours, Nawazesh

He was buried in his birthplace, Muradpur,

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

References

1945 births 1981 deaths People from Comilla District Bangladesh Army colonels Executed Bangladeshi people People convicted of murder by Bangladesh 20th-century executions by Bangladesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Uddin, Nawazesh Mukti Bahini personnel