Daily Times, June 26, 2006
BD’s 1971 hero buried with state honour after 35 years
DHAKA: Remains of a Bangladeshi war hero were buried in his homeland with state honours on Sunday - 35 years after he was killed during the 1971 war.
M Matiur Rahman’s flag-draped coffin was received by Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and an honour guard at Dhaka’s Zia International Airport on Saturday. The funeral, held on Sunday in the presence of acting President Jamiruddin Sircar, was at a national parade ground in Dhaka, the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs said in a statement. “I am happy to see that he has come back,” Rahman’s emotionally choked widow, Milly, told reporters at the parade ground. “I am fortunate enough seeing this during my life.” A commissioned air force officer, Rahman died on August 20, 1971, in a plane crash as he tried to flee Karachi across India to then-East Pakistan in an air force training craft to join the civil war that led to Bangladesh’s split from Pakistan. Rahman was training a second pilot, Rashid Minhas, who is honoured as a hero in Pakistan for forcing the plane to crash to prevent the defection. AP
1 comment:
What a blast from the past! The Nishan-e-Haider drama featuring Rashid Minhas has always been one of my favourites. Even as a young man I realized that the Matiur Rahman's portrayal was probably biased (which is understandable as well).
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