Major General (Retd) KM Shafiullah, former chief of army staff and commander of Sector 3 during the Liberation War, has passed away at the age of 90.
Shafiullah had been admitted to the Combined Military Hospital on January 2 and breathed his last at approximately 8:45am on Sunday.
Lt Col Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury, director of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the matter.
Shafiullah was born on September 2, 1934 in Rupganj upazila, Narayanganj.
He played a key role in the Liberation War as commander of Sector 3, leading troops in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Sylhet, and parts of Comilla.
Later, when three regular army brigades (referred to as forces) were formed, he led the S Force.
He later became the first brigade commander of the newly formed 46 Brigade and was appointed chief of army staff on April 5, 1972.
Promoted to major general in 1973, he served as army chief during the assassination of Bangladesh’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family members in 1975 but was unaware of the plot.
Shafiullah later said in several media interviews that he, along with the then air force and navy chiefs, had been “forced” to support Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad’s government.
Many Awami League leaders blamed Shafiullah for failing to prevent the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, but in an interview with the daily Prothom Alo, Shafiullah said: “What can an army chief do in such a situation?”
After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Shafiullah was dismissed as army chief by the Mostaq government and was later sent abroad as an ambassador.
He represented Bangladesh in several countries, including Malaysia, Canada, Sweden, and England.
For his significant contributions during the war, Shafiullah was awarded the title Bir Uttom.
In 1991, when he returned to Bangladesh, he was made an officer on special duty (OSD).
He later voluntarily resigned from his position and entered politics.
He joined the Awami League in 1995 and contested the 1996 general election from the Narayanganj-1 constituency, becoming elected as a member of parliament.
In 2007, he became a member of the Presidium of the Sector Commanders Forum, an organization established to intensify the demand for the trial of war criminals from 1971.
Later, he served as the organization’s chairman.