Veteran freedom fighter Lt Col (retd) Quazi Nooruzzaman (Bir Uttam), sector-7 commander of the 1971 Liberation War, breathed his last yesterday at the Square Hospital in the capital. He was 86.
Nooruzzaman, a veteran of the Second World War, joined the British Indian Navy in 1943 at the age of 18.
He left behind his wife, two daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
His body was taken to his DOHS residence and later kept at the mortuary of the Birdem hospital.
The body will be taken to the central Shaheed Minar at 10:30am today for his fellow members of sector-7, well-wishers and people from of all walks of life to pay respect to the valiant freedom fighter.
His namaz-e-janaza will be held after Zohr prayers at the Dhaka University mosque followed by another namaz-e-janaza at the Army mosque at the Dhaka Cantonment after Asr prayers.
He will be laid to rest at the Banani Army Graveyard alongside his fellow freedom fighters, his son-in-law Shahidulla Khan Badal told The Daily Star.
Nooruzzaman joined the Liberation War on March 28, 1971 and was made sector-7 commander on September 26.
During his stint as the chairman of the Muktijoddha Sangsad in the early 1980s, he demanded a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and trial of war criminals. He was jailed by the then military dictator HM Ershad for pressing for the demand.
He was one of the architects of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee.
Born to Quazi Sadrul Ola and Ratubannessa on March 24, 1925 in Jessore, Nooruzzaman studied chemistry at St Xavier’s College in Calcutta before joining the British Indian Navy in 1943. He fought for the allies in the Second World War off the coasts of Burma and Sumatra.
When his family decided to settle in Pakistan during the partition, Nooruzzaman joined the Pakistan Army but went to voluntary retirement following the imposition of martial law by General Ayyub Khan. He returned briefly to military service during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.
He was also a noted writer and thinker. He was the editor of weekly Noya Padoddhani and one of the editors of the book, Ekattorer Ghatak o Dalalra Ke Kothay. His books include Muktijuddho o Rajniti, Bangladesher Samaj o Rajniti, Swadesh Chinta, and A Sector Commander Remembers Bangladesh Liberation War.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock at the death of the veteran freedom fighter and said he made outstanding contribution to the Liberation War, reports BSS.
“The nation will remember his contribution forever with deep gratitude,” Hasina said.
Different socio-cultural organisations also condoled his death.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
