Air Vice Marshal Abdul Ghaffar Mahmud | |
---|---|
4th Chief of Air Staff | |
In office 5 September 1976 –8 December 1977 | |
Preceded by | Khademul Bashar |
Succeeded by | Sadruddin Mohammad Hossain |
Personal details | |
Born | Calcutta,Bengal,British India | 15 December 1934
Awards | Order of the Rising Sun 2nd Class [1] Independence Day Award |
Nickname | A.G. |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Pakistan (before 1973) Bangladesh |
Branch/service | Pakistan Air Force Bangladesh Air Force |
Years of service | 1955–1977 |
Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
Unit | No. 14 Squadron |
Commands |
|
Battles/wars | Indo-Pak War of 1965 |
Air Vice Marshal (retd.) Abdul Ghaffar Mahmud (born 1934) [1] is a former chief of the Bangladesh Air Force. He negotiated the release of hostages from the hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 472. [2] For his role in keeping the situation under control and securing the lives of every single passenger,the Japanese government conferred upon him the "Order of the Rising Sun,Gold and Silver Star" awards. [3]
Mahmud was born in 1934. [4] His father taught at a Aliya Madrasah and Mahmud studied at a Madrassah in Kolkata. [4] After the 1947 Partition of India,he and his family moved to East Pakistan. [4]
Mahmud joined the Pakistan Air Force in 1952. [4]
Mahmud was a transport pilot of the Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport airlift aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force. [5]
During the Liberation War he was posted as a Wing Commander in the high altitude region of Gilgit. [5] He was repatriated to Independent Bangladesh in 1973 and made director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines on the orders of General M. A. G. Osmani. [4] He resigned from Biman Bangladesh Airlines after the chairman of the airlines revoked the suspension of a pilot without his consultation. [4] He found himself at a disadvantage at Bangladesh Air Force were promotion priority was given to veterans of Bangladesh Liberation War. [4] After the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état and assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,the Chief of Air Staff,A. K. Khandker,was removed and posted to a diplomatic mission. [4] Khandker was replaced by Muhammad Ghulam Tawab who was replaced by Khademul Bashar. [4] Mahmud succeeded Bashar,who died in a plane crash,as Chief of Air Staff. [4] He was the chief of Bangladesh Air Force from 5 September 1976 to 8 December 1977. [5] He was part of a delegation that asked President Abu Sadat Muhammad Sayem to relinquish power in favor of General Ziaur Rahman. [4]
In 1977 he negotiated with the Japanese Red Army who had hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 472 and landed the flight in Dhaka Airport. He worked to get the hostages freed. [6] [7] [8] During the hostage crises on 1 October 1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny took place,Group Captain Ansar Chowdhury was killed beside Mahmud. [4] Captain Sadik Hasan Rumi led an operation to rescue Abdul Gafoor Mahmud,Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force. [9] His brother in law Group Captain Raas Masud was killed in the mutiny. [4] Squadron Leader Md. Abdul Matin and Wing Commander Anwar Ali Shaikh were also killed in the mutiny. [4] Mahmud resigned in December 1977 over the fallout of the mutiny and subsequent mass trials. [4]
Mahmud became the minister for food,health and rehabilitation in the cabinet of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad. [3]
In April 2017,Mahmud was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun,Gold and Silver Star for his role in negotiating with the hijackers of Japan Airlines Flight 472. [10] [11]
Mahmud married Syeda Asiya Begum in 1957 and they got a divorce in 1964. [4] He remarried to Hasina Maya. [4]
Biman Bangladesh Airlines,commonly known as Biman,is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka,the airline also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and as well as Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. The airline provides international passenger and cargo services to multiple destinations and has air service agreements in 42 countries. The headquarters of the airline,Balaka Bhaban,is located in Kurmitola,in the northern part of Dhaka. Annual Hajj flights,transporting tourists,migrants,and non-resident Bangladeshi workers and the activities of its subsidiaries form an integral part of the corporate business of the airline. Bangladesh's air transport sector,which is experiencing an 8% annual growth rate thanks to a large number of outbound tourists,domestic tourists,and non-resident Bangladeshi travellers,is very competitive with stiff competition among some private Bangladeshi airlines as well as Biman.
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The air force is primarily responsible for air defence of Bangladesh's sovereign territory as well as providing air support to the Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy. Furthermore,the BAF has a territorial role in providing tactical and strategic air transport and logistics capability for the country.
Japan Air Lines Flight 472 was an aircraft hijacking carried out by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) on 28 September 1977.
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Tejgaon Airport,officially BAF Base Bashar,is a Bangladesh Air Force military base in Dhaka,Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army also uses this military base. It served as the country's sole international airport prior to the construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) functions as the regulatory body for all aviation related activities in Bangladesh. It is the civil aviation authority operating under the Ministry of Civil Aviation &Tourism. All nine operational airports are operated by the CAAB. A member of International Civil Aviation Organization,it has signed bilateral air transport agreement with 52 states. It is headquartered in Kurmitola,Dhaka.
The history of aviation in Bangladesh began with kites,the traditional heavier-than-air man-made object,that is flown by one or more people while staying on the ground. The first recorded manned flight was arranged by the Dhaka Nawab Family in 1882,which resulted in the death of the flyer.
M Khademul Bashar,Bir Uttom was the Chief of Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force during 1976. He also held the office of Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator and was in charge of the Ministry of Petroleum,the Ministry of Food and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism.
1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar,the 1977th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations,the 977th year of the 2nd millennium,the 77th year of the 20th century,and the 8th year of the 1970s decade.
Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Abdul Karim Khandker,Bir Uttom is a former planning minister of the Government of Bangladesh. He is a retired diplomat and was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War,He was also the first Chief of Air Staff,getting the appointment immediately after the independence of Bangladesh in 1972.
Sadik Hasan Rumi is a former Major General of Bangladesh Army who served as Director General of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) from May 2006 to May 2007.
The 1977 Bogra mutiny was a mutiny in Bogra Cantonment,a military station near the city of Bogra in Bangladesh on 30 September 1977.
The 1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny was an attempted coup staged on 2 October 1977 by members of Bangladesh Air Force and the Signal Corps of Bangladesh Army. The mutiny was led by Sergeant Afsar Ali Khan of the air force,who was a member of the Communist Party of East Bengal.
Kilo Flight was the code name for the Mukti Bahini combat aviation formation during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. It consisted of one DHC-3 Otter plane and one Alouette III helicopter,both carrying rocket pods and machine guns for launching hit-and-run attacks on Pakistani targets,and one DC-3 Dakota for logistical missions. 9 Bengali pilots and 58 former PAF personnel formed the unit under the command of Group Captain A. K. Khandker in September 1971. The aircraft were supplied by Indian Authorities and the formation was led by Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud under the operational control of IAF base Jorhat. The unit started training in October 1971 at Dimapur in Nagaland,and this unit was the first to launch airstrikes on Pakistani targets in East Pakistan on December 4,1971,by attacking oil depots at Narayanganj and Chittagong. In total the unit flew 90 sorties and 40 combat missions between December 4 and 16,1971. After the war,this unit formed the core of the nascent Bangladesh Air Force.
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K.M. Aminul Islam Khan was a former Jatiya Party (Ershad) member of parliament for Munshiganj-3. He was the paternal uncle of M. Hamidullah Khan TJ,SH,BP who was a BDF Commander,Sector 11,1971 War of Independence and public official.
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