Dear Naweed,
Thanks for your e-mail.
We are happy to know that finally you and your family have got some 'positive finding' of ' discovering' - where your missing father, SHAHEED Lt Col MA Qadir, a brave son of Bangladesh, who was abduct by the Pakistani killer army & their local guides - DALALs during initial period of Liberation War of Bangladesh and finally he was killed along with some other brave Bangalee - who were dedicated, sincere & brave activists of our liberation war on the 17 th April 1971. Then they (all SHAHEEDs) were buried after JANAZA & DOA by Imam of local mosque and by some faithful Bangalee at great risk under the direction of Mr Nurul Islam, a businessman who was a member of Awami League's Chittagong chapter's working committee in 1971 & now partly paralyzed, who has guided your, elder brother Nadeem Qadir, a journalist by profession, to that holy spot after 36 years.
At the same time - we are also feeling very sorry for your immense loss and mourning – which you & your family were facing since April 1971.
We pray & hope that May Almighty Allah grant them the highest position in JANNAT (as a SHAHEED) and we also wish May Almighty Allah give you & your family and all others (who have lost their dear & near ones during our liberation war) courage, strength, SABUR & prosperity.
"Sustha thako, nirapade thako ebong valo thako"
Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan (ANU)
NEW ZEALAND.
Phone: 00-64-9-828 2435 (Res), 00-64-0274 500 277 (mobile)
E-mail: srbanunz@gmail.com
Dear Anu Bhai,Yesterday I came to know from my brother that our father's grave has been discovered and finally after 36 years we now know the fate of our father Shaheed Lt Col M. A. Qadir. You might be aware that Qadirabad Cantonment - the heart of Corps of Engineers - in Rajshahi is named after our father. The following story just came out today in New Age Newspaper ( http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#9 )Son traces his martyred father's
grave 36 years after the war
Nazrul IslamA determined son of a martyred freedom-fighter has ended his painful 16-year mission, finally discovering where his missing father was killed and buried after being abducted by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's War of Liberation 36 years ago.
Nadeem Qadir, a journalist by profession, started the mission in 1991 to trace the whereabouts of the remains of his father Lt Col MA Qadir, of the corps of engineers, who went missing after his arrest by the occupation forces in April 1971.
Nadeem, a young boy at that time, and his pregnant mother and a sister only saw Col Qadir being picked up by the Pakistani soldiers in the early morning on April 17 from their Panchlaish residence, but failed to trace his father's body's whereabouts until he concluded the mission recently.
He is now confirmed that his father lies in a mass grave in Chittagong.
'After a 16-year search I stumbled on a clue that finally led me to a mass grave in Panchlaish. The grave is very close to our Panchlaish residence in 1971,' Nadeem told New Age on Wednesday, adding that the bodies of 18 other freedom-fighters were dumped at the mass grave.
Construction work was underway on the site of the mass grave when Nadeem completed his investigation. After being requested by the army, the authorities kept the construction work suspended from January 10, 2008.
Officials at the army headquarters say that it is a matter of pride that they could finally trace the grave of a valiant son of the soil.
'We will do whatever is needed to honour the martyr of the War of Liberation,' a senior army officer told New Age.
Nadeem interviewed a host of people during his investigation, including many involved in the freedom struggle whom Col Qadir had helped to defend his country in the initial period of the War of Liberation in Chittagong.
Nadeem said the tracing agency of the Red Cross stated in 1974 that he [Col. Qadir] was 'missing, believed killed' on April 17, 1971.
But that was not enough to satisfy his family as nobody could say certainly where he was killed. There was information that the Pakistanis killed Qadir near Foy's Lake, where his eldest son used to go to pray and place floral wreaths every year.
But not being convinced by the unsupported information from various sources, Nadeem started his fact-finding mission afresh in 1991. He visited Panchlaish and its environs several times, taking his father's picture to show the people who might have known or seen him.
No one could say anything about his father at that time.
Nadeem, failing to get any dependable information, almost abandoned his plan in 2004.
But he got a big clue in 2007.
During a lecture to a Sudan-bound peace mission of the armed forces, Lt Col Bayezid of the Chittagong Brigade showed him a book called Bangalir Jatiyatabadi Sangram, Muktijudhhe Chattagram. The book by Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, a physician-cum-researcher, stated that Col Qadir was killed, along with 35 others, in Panchlaish behind the Apollo Poly Clinic in front of Chittagong Medical College.
Rahman took him to the main witness, Nurul Islam, a businessman who was a member of Awami League's Chittagong chapter's working committee in 1971.
Islam confirmed that he knew Col Qadir and had buried him, along with at least 18 others killed by the Pakistani army, in a vacant plot in Panchlaish on April 17, 1971.
'Col Qadir lay on his back and took at least five bullets,' Mannan was quoted to have said. He added that Col Qadir gave explosives to freedom-fighters from the store of his office (Oil and Gas Development Corporation, now Petrobangla) and raised the Bangladesh flag in his office in March, 1971.
He said it was part of the party's plan to gear up support from people like Col Qadir. 'I went to his office and also to his residence, which was close by, almost regularly since the stalemate over the 1970 elections started.'
'Islam, now partly paralyzed, took me to the spot — (Dar us Salam, 34/A Panchlaish) — on part of which stands Dar us Salam and on the other a new construction has been going on,' said Nadeem.
That is where the mass grave is, Islam said, recalling that he heard shots at around 2pm. 'I went to see the bodies later at great risk ...There were a few others who had come to see...We called in the Imam of the local Makkhi Masjid to recite the last prayers.'
'It was to be done quickly, quietly, and ensuring that the dead received their last rites as far as possible,' Islam told Nadeem, adding that the janaza was offered and they were buried close to the major drain flowing through the area on the plot, which was vacant at that time.
A building is being constructed on that land and the owners did not say anything on finding any remains there as they had reburied them with concrete.There will be further news coming out by this weekend. The army chief has ordered the mass grave to be protected. I will send you the full story which will come out this weekend soon.
I wish my mother was here to hear the news. She waited for 27 years for him to return as we were told by numerous sources that he might be alive.
Please pray for his soul.
Regards,
Naweed
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