A. K. Khandker
Encyclopedia
Air Vice Marshal A K Khandker, Bir Uttom
Bir Uttom
Bir Uttom is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho.Since independence of Bangladesh in 1971, 69 people have been awarded as Bir Uttom....

, MP
Jatiyo Sangshad
Jatiya Sangsad or National Assembly is the national parliament of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 345 seats including 45 women reserved seats distributed on elected party position in the parliament, the occupants of which are called Members of Parliament or MPs...

is the current Planning Minister of 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
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....

.

Early life

Khandker was born in a respected Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 family of Pabna
Pabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...

 in 1930. His Father was Late Khandker Abdul Latif and his mother was Late Arefa Khatun. He completed his Matriculation in 1947 and ISC in 1949. He Completed his Graduation from PAF College in September, 1952 and PSA in 1965 from Pakistan Air Force Staff College. He started his service career as GD Pilot in 1951. He served in Fighter Squadron till 1955 and became Flying Instructor. He was at PAF Academy till 1957 as flying instructor.
He served as Flight Commander at Flying Instructors’ School till 1958. Later he became Flight Commander at Jet Fighter Conversion Squadron where he served till 1960.
He was Squadron Commander at PAF
PAF
- In computers :* Personal Ancestral File, a program to collect genealogical information.* .PAF, filename extension of Personal Ancestral File databases* .PAF, filename extension of PortableApps files...

 Academy till 1961. Afterwards, he became Squadron Commander of Jet Fighter Conversion Squadron where he served till 1965. He served as Officer Commanding of Training wing at PAF Academy in 1966. He became PSA in 1965 from Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

 Staff College.
A K Khandker was President of PAF Planning Board from 1966-1969. Later, he was posted at Dhaka as Second in Command of PAF Base in 1969.

In 1971

He was posted in the Pakistan Air force Base in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

 as Second -in -Command when the liberation war began in 1971. He defected with 07 Bengali officers and some airmen from the Dhaka base of the Pakistan Air Force for Tripura on 12th May, 1971 for joining the liberation war and reached Matinnagar, Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

 on 15th May, 1971. The then Bangladesh Government of Mujibnagar straightway appointed him as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the liberation war, and was given the responsibility of operation and also training of the freedom fighters. He used to closely interact with the senior officials of the Indian Eastern Command located at the Fort Williams
Fort Williams
Fort Williams was a supply depot built in early 1814 in preparation for the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. It was located in Alabama on the southeast shore of where Cedar Creek met the Coosa River, near Talladega Springs. The original site was submerged under Lay Lake with the 1914 construction of the...

, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 about training strategies for our Freedom Fighters as well as for overall operation. He personally monitored and assessed our progress in liberation war as well as supervised the welfare of our freedom fighters that immensely contributed in raising their morale. It was he who established the first ever Bangladesh Air Force in Dimapur
Dimapur
Dimapur in Nagaland is bounded by Kohima district on the south and east, Karbi Anglong district of Assam on the West, the Karbi Anglong and stretch of Golaghat District of Assam, in the west and the north...

, Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

 during our freedom movement. The Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force , is the air arm of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Air Force currently employs more than 22,000 personnel including 600+ Pilots.-History:...

 with its limited manpower and resources of only 09 officers, 57 airmen, and 03 aircrafts carried out significant numbers of operation against the Pakistani invaders. This valiant freedom fighter proudly represented Bangladesh in the surrender ceremony of the Pakistani forces to the allied forces on 16 December, 1971 at the famous Race Course ground. He received the gallantry award of “Bir Uttam” in 1972 for his luminous role in our war of liberation.

Post liberation war

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...

, following the independence, appointed him as the Chief of Air Staff of the reconstituted Air Force. He left a lasting mark in developing the newly constituted Air Force. Within next two years, he assembled 01 fighter squadron, 01 Helicopter squadron, and 02 Radar Units to its strength. He served the Bangladesh Air Force as its Chief during the period 1972 – 1975 and was instrumental in growing the Bangladesh Air Force as an efficient outfit. Apart from serving the Bangladesh Air Force, he was the first Chairman of the national flagship airliner “Bangladesh Biman” for the period 1972 – 1973. Under his dynamic leadership our national airlines firmly established itself as a proud national entity. In the aftermath of the heinous killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, he was the first officer to step down from Government position as the Chief of the Bangladesh Air force as a mark of protest.

Sector Commanders Forum

During the tenure of the immediate past Government of 2001 – 2006, Mr. Khandker is credited as the main architect of establishing the “Sector Commanders Forum” by organizing Sector and Sub-Sector Commanders of the liberation war that waged strong movement against pro-Jamat and other alleged war criminals. Mr. Khandker, as the Chairman of the Forum assumed overall responsibility of guiding this movement. The “Sector Commanders Forum” constituted on 9 December, 2006 launched courageous movement, conducted mass awareness program, organized meetings and processions across the country and formed human chains to raise public awareness and glorified our war of liberation that has been systematically undermined by the anti-liberation forces. People upraising as a sequel of this campaign helped in obtaining massive verdict in favor of the pro-liberation forces in the general election of 29 December, 2008.

The Independence Award in 2011

In a statement by the government, in recalling his remarkable contribution in directing the war of liberation as the Deputy Chief of Staff, in recognition of his role in reconstituting the Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force , is the air arm of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Air Force currently employs more than 22,000 personnel including 600+ Pilots.-History:...

 to a professional and effective outfit of our defense system as its Chief following the independence, and for his dedicated service to the motherland in various important state positions and in appreciation for his arduous and relentless service to the Republic, the name of Air Vice Marshall (Rtd.) Abdul Karim Khandker is awarded the Independence Award for 2011.

Other responsibilities

He was appointed as the Bangladesh High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...

 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and served the mission during 1976 – 1982. Later on, he became the Bangladesh High Commissioner in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 for the period 1982 – 1986. In 1986, he was appointed as Adviser to the President and thereafter he served the nation as the Planning Minister up to 1990. He was elected as a Member of the Parliament in 1998 and 2009 respectively from Pabna
Pabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...

–2 constituencies (Sujanagar Upazila
Sujanagar Upazila
Sujanagar is an Upazila of Pabna District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Upazila is the home of agriculture across the district. Kashinathpur bazar and Nagarbari is the famous place in sujanagar which is basically commercial capital of the Upazila....

). In 2009, he has been inducted as a full cabinet minister and given the charge of the Minister, Ministry of Planning.
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