Political Killings in Bangladesh
DGFI and
ISI plot to assassinate the key leaders of Nirmul Committee
The history of political killing in East Pakistan or today's Bangladesh dates back to 24 April 1950 when the jail guards, on secret orders from the government, opened fire on ten leftist leaders imprisoned in Rajshahi jail as political prisoners. The terrible incident was known as Khapra Ward Murder which the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) still observes. The prisoners killed in the Khapra ward murder were not ordinary convicts, they were members of highly educated upper middle class Bengali Hindus, mostly teachers and solicitors. On the day of the killing there was no procession, the prisoners were on peaceful hunger strike for several days. Being on hunger strikes for such a long time the prisoners could barely move. Yet without any agitation the guards and the escorted by the police came in and started shooting them accusing them of being communists.
The first political killing in independent Bangladesh was directed to the founder of independent Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 15 August 1975, Mujib and his whole family (except for two daughters who were living overseas) were massacred by the army. Mujib's fate was no different to other two famous nationalist leaders in the late 60s to early 70s: Acmed Sukarno of Indonesia and Salvador Alende of Chile. In less than ten weeks four of Mujib's key associates were killed in the prison by the army: Syed Nazrul Islam (Vice President), Tajuddin Ahmed (Prime Minister), Kamaruz Zaman (Home Minister), M Mansur Ali (Finance Minister). Two successive military regimes continued what was initiated in 1975 with Mujib's murder. In all the cases the victims were primarily leaders and activists of three main pro-liberation parties: Awami League, NAP (M) and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB). If Bangladesh liberation war is considered as a revolution, the 1975 military was definitely a counter revolution because it "liquidated the nationalists" and empowered the anti-liberation forces: Muslim league (and its new version BNP) and Jamt-e-Islam. The revolutionaries were lenient, Mujib forgave his adversaries in the war. But the counter revolutionaries are ruthless: they have continuously been killing the pro-liberation people for last 34 years from Sheikh Mujib to his ambassador in the UN-Shah AMS Kibria.
One thing common to all those political killings: none of them were investigated and tried. Only Awami League initiated the trial of Mujib murder when they briefly came to power in 1996. Except for that little exception not a single one of hundreds of political killings were tried or investigated. Bangladesh has a big army and dozens of law enforcement organizations: ansar, police, detective branch, special branch of police, national security intelligence, DGFI, and elite forces like cobra, chitah and RAB. Yet none of the cases were investigated and none were brought to justice. This prevailing circumstances in Pakistan and Bangladesh underscores the fact that the governments between 1947-2004 were not interested in pursuing those cases. In other words governments favored those political killings because they were beneficiaries of those killings. Who holds those governments: Muslim League, Pakistan army, Bangladesh army and BNP (neo Muslim league).
Foreign organizations in investigation of political killings: The stunt of involving prestigious foreign agencies in investigation of the high profile political murder started in the 50s when the president of Pakistan, Liakat Ali Khan, was killed in a public gathering. To prove the innocence of the government FBI was invited to investigate the case. A couple of big fat Yankees flown in, stayed in 5 star hotels, drank imported alcohol, cruised around the city in air conditioned 4WDs and that was all. No body knows about the outcome of the so-called FBI investigation. The Khaleda Zia's government is copying the tactics of her husbands predecessors from the military. Following the assassination attempt on sheikh Hasina FBI, Interpol and the Scotland Yard big boys had excursions in Bangladesh but their missions, costing thousands of dollars to American, British and French taxpayers, resulted in little more than a few two inch news on top dailies about their arrivals and departures with photos of their chunky bodies and sweaty faces caused by the muggy Bangladeshi summer. Whenever they come to Bangladesh they look for Talibans and Bangla Bhai's which the local government agencies say they don't exist, they are the invention of the marijuana infested Bangladeshi media. For the government it is a great eyewash tactics: involvement of foreign agencies in the investigation of political murder proves their good will to find the culprits and the failure of the foreign agencies only reinforce the government propagated "heinous conspiracy theory" of the opposition who as per the statements of the home minister "plot the killing of their own leaders to buy public sympathy to go power".