News Desk :
AK Khandker, the deputy chief of staff of the Bangladesh forces during the Liberation War and the country’s first Air Force chief, has died at the age of 95.
He passed away due to age-related issues around 10:30am on Saturday, according to the Army’s public relations wing ISPR. Khandker was a pioneering figure in the formation of the Bangladesh Air Force during the war of independence. He later held a number of senior positions in both military and civilian life.
He served as an ambassador during the military rule of late president Ziaur Rahman and went on to become planning minister under military strongman HM Ershad, reports bdnews24.com
After the return to parliamentary democracy, Khandker was elected to parliament in 2008 from Pabna as an Awami League candidate. He served as planning minister in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet for five years.
In recognition of his contributions to the Liberation War, the government awarded him the Independence Award in 2011, the country’s highest civilian honour. He had earlier been awarded the gallantry title of Bir Uttom for his role in the war.
In 2014, Khandker published a book titled “1971: Bhitore Baire” (1971: Inside and Outside), which sparked controversy for including disputed information about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He later retracted a section of the book and, in 2019, publicly apologised to the nation and to the memory of Bangabandhu.
Born on Jan 1, 1930, in Rangpur, Khandaker’s ancestral home was in Puran Bharenga village in Pabna’s Bera Upazila. He studied at Naogaon Municipal School, Malda School and Rajshahi College before enrolling at Dhaka Ahsanullah Engineering College, now known as BUET.
He joined the Pakistan Air Force while a student and was commissioned in 1952. After serving in West Pakistan for nearly two decades, he was posted to Dhaka as a wing commander in 1969, shortly before the political upheaval that led to the Liberation War.
