Sergeant Zahurul Haque’s death anniversary observed

Marking the day, a Milad Mahfil was held after Fajr prayers at the central mosque of Bangladesh Air Force Base Zahurul Haque in Chattogram, seeking divine blessings for the departed soul and continued peace and prosperity of the country.

Air Officer Commanding of BAF Base Zahurul Haque, Air Vice Marshal Md Abdullah Al-Mamun, along with senior officers, airmen and other members of the base, attended the programme.

On this day in 1969, Sergeant Zahurul Haque, a Bengali member of the then Pakistan Air Force and an accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case, was shot dead by a Pakistani soldier while in detention at Dhaka Cantonment.

He had been arrested in December 1967 in connection with the case filed by the Pakistan government and was initially kept at Dhaka Central Jail, according to an ISPR media release. He was later taken into custody under the Air Force Act and held at Dhaka Cantonment.

Amid the mass uprising of 1969, the then Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan withdrew the Agartala Conspiracy Case. However, Sergeant Zahurul Haque was killed on February 15, 1969, while still in detention.

In recognition of his contribution to the country’s liberation struggle, a residential hall of Dhaka University was named Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall, and Bangladesh Air Force Base Zahurul Haque in Chattogram was named in his honour in 1982.

He was posthumously awarded the Swadhinata Padak in 2018, reports UNB.