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 sixth president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by a faction of officers of Bangladesh Army, on 30 May 1981, in the southeastern port city of Chittagong. Rahman went to Chittagong to arbitrate in a clash between the local leade ...

Career

Bangladesh Liberation War

In 1959, Nawazesh joined the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

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 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 ...

when the 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

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

Tajuddin Ahmed Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the 1st Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, and is regarded as one of the most instrumental figures ...

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

7 November 1975 Coup

On 3 November 1975, General

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf (; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a two star officer in Bangladesh Army, who is known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the subsequent coups in post-independence Bangladesh. After deposing Khondakar ...

, Lt. Colonel A.T.M. Haider and Colonel

Nazmul Huda Nazmul Huda (6 January 1943 – 19 February 2023) was a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. He served as the Ministry of Information (Bangladesh), minister of information (1991–1996) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, minister o ...

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

Abu Taher Abu Taher (; 14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was a Bangladeshi military officer and war hero. He first served in the Pakistan Army, and later defected to the Bangladesh Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He crossed into India around ...

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 Jalil 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, stating "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 (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

References

{{reflist 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 Mukti Bahini personnel Bangladeshi assassins 20th-century Bangladeshi military personnel