Sector commander KM Shafiullah in ICU

The sector commander has been sick for a long time, his family says

Maj Gen (Retd) KM Shafiullah, one of the noted sector commanders in the Liberation War, has been admitted to the intensive care unit, or ICU, at a Dhaka hospital.

Shafiullah, who is almost 90 years old, has been sick for a long time, said veteran freedom fighter Harun Habib, secretary general of the Sector Commanders Forum, an organisation of the sector commanders of the 1971 Liberation War, on Tuesday.

“He [Shafiullah] is receiving treatment at the ICU of Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital,” Habib said, citing the sector commander’s family.

Shafiullah was second in command of the Second East Bengal Regiment in Joydevpur during the 1971 Liberation War. He was the first Bengali officer who led a battalion to stage a rebellion.

At the beginning of the Liberation War, Shafiullah was the commander of Sector 3. Later, he was appointed as one of three brigade commanders, leading what was called the "S-force" [after his surname]. He was awarded the title of 'Bir Uttam' for his notable contributions to the Liberation War.

Born in 1934 in Narayanganj’s Rupganj, Shafiullah served as the chief of Army staff of the Bangladesh Army from 1972 to 1975. He also served as Bangladeshi ambassador to many countries, including Malaysia, Canada, Sweden and England.

He was elected as a parliament member on the Awami League ticket in 1996.

Shafiullah was one of the presidium members of the Sector Commanders Forum when the organisation was formed with the surviving sector commanders in 2007 to accelerate the movement demanding justice against the 1971 war criminals. He was also elected as the chairman of the forum.