DHAKA, Dec 10, 2020 (BSS) – Liberation War veteran and former secretary to the government and ambassador colonel (retd) Anwarul Alam Shaheed passed away this afternoon as he was being treated at a hospital in the capital. He was 73.
Family members and colleagues said Shaheed, who was also the vice president of Sector Commanders Forum, breathed his last at 12.40 pm at the United Hospital in the capital,
“He was kept in ventilation following a surgery in brain,” Forum’s secretary general journalist Haroon Habib said.
He said Shaheed, who fought as the civilian head of the Liberation War time Kaderia Bahini, was previously diagnosed with COVID-19 from which he recovered but the brain tumor appeared to have eventually cost his life.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had appointed him as the deputy chief of the paramilitary Rakkhi Bahini following the Liberation War while he was later absorbed in army and subsequently served as a diplomat rising up to the level of an ambassador and secretary to the government.
An amicable personality and soft-spoken Shahid is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
His body was taken to his Gulshan residence. Initially a decision was taken that he would be laid to eternal rest at the Dhaka cantonment graveyard but the family members will take final decision where the Liberation War veteran would be buried.
His body is now kept at a hospital’s mortuary.
Born in 1947 at Thanapara in Tangail, Shaheed engaged himself in student politics in 1962. He served as the president of the Tangail district unit of Chhatra League.
He took part in all major democratic movements of the country.
He actively participated in 1971 Liberation War. After the independence, he held several important positions of the government.
After retiring from the government service in 2006, he built a museum titled ‘Shaheed Muktijuddho Jadughor’ on his ancestral land in Tangail. He also authored books on Liberation War.