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Published : 03 Jan 2025, 05:31 PM
KM Shafiullah, one of the sector commanders during the Liberation War and a retired major general in the Army, has been hospitalised with pneumonia.
Abu Sayeed, joint office secretary of the Sector Commanders Forum, told bdnews24.com on Friday: "I learned from the caretaker of his house that he was admitted to the CMH [Combined Military Hospital] on Thursday night due to pneumonia."
Shafiullah, who is in his nineties, has been ill for a long time. He is suffering from a number of health problems including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid complications, fatty liver, and dementia. He requires a stretcher to be moved.
In 1971, Shafiullah was the second chief of the 2nd East Bengal Regiment in Joydebpur. Under his leadership, the Bengali soldiers of that regiment revolted.
At the beginning of the Liberation War, Shafiullah was the commander of Sector No. 3. Later, when three regular Army brigades (known as forces) were formed, Shafiullah came to lead the ‘S’ Force. He received the title of “Bir Uttom” for his special contributions to the Liberation War.
Born on Sept 2, 1934, in Narayanganj’s Rupganj, Shafiullah served as the chief of army staff from 1972 to 1975 after Bangladesh gained independence. Later, he served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to several countries including Malaysia, Canada, Sweden, and England.
When he returned to the country in 1991, he was kept as OSD for a year. The next year, he voluntarily retired.
In 1995, he joined the Awami League and in 1996, he was elected as a member of parliament from Narayanganj-1 constituency under the boat symbol.
When the Sector Commanders Forum was formed in 2007 with surviving sector commanders of the Liberation War to push for the trials of 1971 war criminals, Shafiullah became a member of the organisation's praesidium. He later became its chairman.
Shafiullah was the army chief in 1975 when a group of Army personnel assassinated then president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He also expressed his loyalty to the government formed under the leadership of Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad after Sheikh Mujib's assassination. However, he lost his post as army chief within a few days.
Shafiullah, however, later said that he, along with the then Air Force chief and Navy chief, were "forced" to support the Mostaq government.
Many Awami League leaders blamed him for the failure to prevent the assassination of Sheikh Mujib. Shafiullah later said in an interview, "What can the army chief do in such a situation?"
