Martyred freedom fighter Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Abdul Qadir
The 52nd death anniversary of Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Abdul Qadir, who embraced martyrdom on April 17 in 1971, has been observed in Natore.
Late Lt. Col. Qadir was the first army officer to raise the Bangladesh flag during the 1971 liberation war.
On Monday (17 April), his family members sought prayers for salvation of the martyred soul. A special prayer was offered at the Central Mosque in Qadirabad Cantonment in Natore marking the occasion. They also paid tributes and offered prayers at his grave.
Meanwhile, Shahid Lt. Col. Abdul Qadir's eldest son and prominent journalist Nadeem Qadir said, “My father had sacrificed his life for liberating the country as other valiant martyred freedom fighters (FFs) did. Hence, all the FFs should be remembered with due respect. They should be loved and honoured duly. We should love the country more and more.’’
His son, also the Editor of The Daily Messenger, requested everyone in Cantonment area for ensuring proper maintenance of his father’s graveyard.’’
Lt. Col. Abdul Qadir, PA-3532, the senior-most army officer to have embraced martyrdom in the 1971, brushed aside warnings of imminent danger and hoisted a black flag along with the red-green flag with a yellow map of what was then East Pakistan in the days of early March after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman adopted it.
He was married to Hasna Hena Qadir, one of the founders of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, an organisation that has been demanding the trial of 1971 war criminals.
In his office, he saluted the fluttering flag of a country yet to be born, along with his colleagues and local leaders of the Bangladesh Awami League. At his 70-year-old Panchlaish residence in Chattogram, the flag hoisting ceremony was joined by his wife Hena, two children, and the household staff.
Wearing the uniform of the Pakistani army, in which he served for decades, Col. Qadir, nicknamed "Bhashani" by the Punjabis, told everyone, "We will achieve victory ... independent Bangladesh is not far away." This meant he had officially revolted against Pakistan! When the cantonment was built at Natore after independence, the cantonment was named 'Qadirabad Cantonment' after this intellectual army officer. His grave was also unmarked for a long time after he disappeared and was killed. When it was found in 2007, he was reburied inside Qadirabad Cantonment with full state honours.
The government also issued a postal stamp in his name recognizing him as a martyred intellectual.
TDM/SNE
