Mustafizur Rahman (20 January 1941 – 3 August 2008) was a Bangladeshi Army general who served as the

Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army Chief of Army Staff (CAS) () of Bangladesh Army, is the commander of the Bangladesh Army. The Chief of Army staff has been a four-star rank since 2007. Prior to that, the Chief of Army Staff was a three-star rank from 1978 to 2007. During the ...

from December 1997 until 23 December 2000.

Early life

Mustafizur Rahman was born on 20 January 1941 in the Dhap neighbourhood of

Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...

in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. He was the son of Muhammad Abdus Sattar and Zarina Khatun. He passed I.Sc and B.Sc examinations, both in first division, in 1958 and 1960 respectively, from Carmichael College, securing eleventh position in I.Sc. He passed B.Sc in Civil Engineering from Buet securing first division in 1965. His wife is a member of the Sheikh family of Tungipara, with former Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

being his niece-in-law. General

Waker-Uz-Zaman Waker-Uz-Zaman (born 16 September 1966) is a four-star general of the Bangladesh Army who is the incumbent Chief of Army Staff. Earlier, he was the Chief of General Staff at Army Headquarters and the 15th Principal Staff Officer of Armed For ...

is his son-in-law. His younger daughter is Lieutenant Colonel Sofia Zerin Tamanna Rahman.

Military Career

He was commissioned in to the Pakistan Army in 1966. In 1971, he was serving as a flight lieutenant, holding the post of Assistant Garrison Engineer (AGE).

Liberation War

During the

Liberation War Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, Mustafiz was posted as Company Commander of 'B' Company at Banpur opposite to Darsana. He organised a number of operations in Darsana, Jibannagore and Jhenidah, including mine warfare. He destroyed many trains and tracks and virtually cut off the communication in Chuadanga-Darsana area. Then-Captain Mustafiz planned and led an attack on enemy position on Jibannagore on the night of November 12/13, 1971. He was seriously injured in that operation. He recovered quickly and took over as sub-sector commander.

Post-1971

After the liberation of Bangladesh, he was posted as Brigade Major of 55th Infantry Brigade. When Sheikh Mujib was killed in 1975, he was in UK attending professional course on Chartered Engineering in a military college. At one stage,

General Zia Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...

ordered his dismissal from the army as he was related to Sheikh Mujib's family. He was called to the DGFI headquarters for interrogation and cleared from the false allegation. As a Brigadier, he was Defence Attaché' in Turkey from 1982-84. He commanded a Brigade in Comilla from 1986-89 and was promoted to the rank of Major General and commanded an Infantry Division in Jessore from 1992-95. After his niece,

, became Prime Minister, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was made army chief. During his tenure, he oversaw the establishment of National Defence College (NDC), Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST),

Armed Forces Medical College upright=1.1, AFMC main building The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is a leading medical school in Pune, India, in the state of Maharashtra. The college is managed by the Indian Armed Forces. Established in May 1948 as a post-graduate t ...

, Trust Bank Limited,

Radisson Hotel Radisson Hotels is a multi-brand hotel chain with a worldwide presence. Its brands include several using the Radisson name, as well as other brands like Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Country Inn & Suites. In June 2022, Radisson Hotel Group ...

, Central Mosque in Dhaka cantonment, Army Golf Course and introduction of lady officers in the army. Mustafizur was promoted to the rank of four-star General on Dec 23, 2000. The promotion was later cancelled in 2004, but the High Court declared the action as illegal and restored his rank.Afterwards, he stated:

"Old soldiers never die. By stripping me of the rank, an attempt was made to make the army controversial. But it was not right,the High Court verdict proved the justification of elevating me to the rank."

Controversy

Mustafizur Rahman was one of the accused in a corruption case regarding the procurement of

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

s for the

Bangladesh Air Force The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) () is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army a ...

along with other government officials, including Bangladesh Prime Minister

Death

Gen Mustafiz had cancer of the pancreas and expired on August 3, 2008. He was buried in Army graveyard at Banani with full military honours and rituals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafizur Rahman 1941 births 2008 deaths Chiefs of Army Staff, Bangladesh Bangladeshi generals Pakistan Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Bir Bikrom Mukti Bahini personnel National Defence College, India alumni Engineers in Chief of the Bangladesh Army 20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel 21st-century Bangladeshi military personnel