Atiqur Rahman
| Lieutenant General M Atiqur Rahman | |
|---|---|
| File:Atiqur Rahman.png | |
| Born | 9 January 1931 |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Occupation | Military Service |
| Known for | Chief of Army Staff |
| Spouse(s) | Mrs. Munira Atiq |
M Atiqur Rahman (born 9 January 1931) was a Lieutenant General and Bangladesh's Chief of Army Staff from 1986 to 1990.
Contents
Early life
M Atiqur Rahman studied in Rangpur Zilla School.[1]
Military career
M Atiqur Rahman was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Regiment of Artillery, in the then Pakistan Army.
Rahman did not join Bangladesh Liberation War. He returned from Pakistan in 1974 and was allowed to join Bangladesh Army. He was second Pakistan returned officer to become Bangladesh's Chief of Army Staff after Ershad.
During assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he was Colonel and brigade commander of Chittagong. He supported the 1982 Bangladesh coup d'état by Ershad to seize power. He was a Major General and head of Bangladesh Rifles during this time.[2] In the early hours of March 24, BDR chief Major General Atiqur Rahman with air force chief Air-Vice Marshal Sultan Mahmud and naval chief Rear Admiral M A Khan entered the Bangabhaban and placed a written statement before then President Sattar and mounted pressure on him to sign on it and hand over power to the army which eventually the president did.[3]
Chief of Army Staff
Fearing competition Ershad was removing Bangladesh Liberation War freedom fighters from Army and promoted M Atiqur Rahman to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed - Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army in September 1986.
Retirement
He retired from the Bangladesh Army with full Military Honours in August 1990. He was succeeded by Nuruddin Khan as appointed by President Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
Later life
After retirement General Atiqur Rahman stayed away from public eye and did not pursue a political career. However, in 2014 he joined an iftar party organized by Khaleda Zia [4]
