Zahurul Haq (9 February 1935 – 15 February 1969) was a

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

sergeant. He was one of the 35 persons accused in the

Agartala Conspiracy Case The Agartala Conspiracy Case was a sedition case in Pakistan during the rule of Ayub Khan against Awami League, brought by the government of Pakistan in 1968 against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the then leader of the Awami League and East Pakistan ...

in 1969. He was killed in custody and his death led to increase in

1969 uprising in East Pakistan The 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan ( bn, ঊনসত্তরের গণঅভ্যুত্থান, lit=69’s Mass uprising) was a democratic political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The uprising consisted of a series of m ...

. He received the

Independence Day Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

from the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

in 2018.

Early life

Haq was born on 9 February 1935 in Sonapur, Sudharam (now

Noakhali Sadar Upazila Noakhali Sadar ( bn, নোয়াখালি সদর) is an upazila of Noakhali District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Noakhali Thana was established in 1861 and was converted into an upazila in 1984. The upazila takes its name f ...

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

. He completed his matriculation from

Noakhali Zilla School Noakhali Zilla School ( bn, নোয়াখালী জিলা স্কুল) is a boy's high school located in the Maijdee town of Noakhali, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest schools in the country. The school was established in 1850.(EI ...

in 1953 and intermediate and B.Sc in Physics from Jagannath College.

Agartala Conspiracy Case

Haq joined

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

in 1957 as an

Airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

and reached the rank of a Sergeant. He was arrested in December 1967 in accusation of a conspiracy to cause an uprising in

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 ...

with the intention of bringing about the secession of the province from the rest of Pakistan. He was confined in

Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...

and later, was transferred to

Dhaka Cantonment Dhaka Cantonment ( bn, ঢাকা সেনানিবাস) is a cantonment located in the northern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The headquarters of the Bangladesh Army, and Bangladesh Air Force, Air Force are situated within the cantonment w ...

in Kurmitola. In January 1968, Awami League leader

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...

's name was added to the case. A special tribunal was set headed by a West Pakistani Justice S. A. Rahman, with two other Bengali judges Justice Mujibur Rahman Khan and Justice

Maksum-ul-Hakim Maksum-ul-Hakim was a jurist, diplomat and justice of Dhaka High Court in Bangladesh. He was an Advocate General for the government. He was an elected member of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Committee for Prevention of Discrimination of Minoriti ...

Barrister Abul Khair Khan A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

served on the legal panel in this Agartala Conspiracy Case as a lawyer for Sergeant Zahurul Haq. The final date for the case was set to 6 February 1969 and the date was deferred later. On 15 February 1969, he was shot by a Pakistani

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

. He was taken to the Combined Military Hospital and died at around 10 pm.

Legacy

Haq's death led to more street protests and state guest house and other government buildings were burned down which led to the withdrawal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case on 22 February 1969. ''"February 15 Bahini"'', the first armed force was formed and consisted of student leaders. Haq was a painter. Some of his paintings are displayed in

Bangladesh National Museum The Bangladesh National Museum ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় জাদুঘর), is the national museum of Bangladesh. The museum is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like dep ...

. Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall of the

University of Dhaka 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 ...

is named after him. BAF Zahurul Haq base, a

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of ...

base is named after him. Haq's eldest brother, Aminul Haque (d. 1995) became the

Attorney General of Bangladesh Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haq, Zahurul 1935 births 1969 deaths People from Noakhali District Pakistan Air Force personnel Bangladeshi activists Causes and prelude of the Bangladesh Liberation War Protest-related deaths Recipients of the Independence Day Award H