AKM Mozammel Haque (Bengali: আ ক ম মোজাম্মেল হক; born 1 October 1946) is a politician from Bangladesh, representing the Bangladesh Awami League party. He was the Minister for Liberation War Affairs from 2014 to 2024[1][2] and is also a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Gazipur-1 constituency.[3][4]
AKM Mozammel Haque | |
|---|---|
| আ ক ম মোজাম্মেল হক | |
.jpg) Mozammel in 2017 | |
| Minister for Liberation War Affairs | |
| In office 5 January 2014 – 6 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Shajahan Khan |
| Succeeded by | Faruk-e-Azam (as adviser) |
| Minister of Religious Affairs | |
| In office 11 December 2018 – 6 January 2019 | |
| Succeeded by | Motiur Rahman |
| Member of the Bangladesh Parliament for Gazipur-1 | |
| In office 25 January 2009 – 6 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Md. Rahamat Ali |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 October 1946 Gazipur District, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
Early life
editHaque was born on 1 October 1946 in Dakhina Khan, Gazipur Sadar Upazila, Gazipur District to Anwar Ali and Rabeya Khatun.[5]
Career
editHaque was a member of the East Pakistan Chhatra League Central Working Committee. He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971 and was part of the Mukti Bahini. From 1973 to 1986, he was elected Upazila chairman three times and four times municipal mayor. He was elected to the parliament from Gazipur-1 in 2008. He was elected unopposed from the same constituency in the 2014 elections which the opposition boycotted citing unfair conditions for the election.[6] He acted as the religious minister of Bangladesh from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, he was appointed the Minister for Liberation War Affairs.[5]
Controversy
editIn 1974, Mozammel was implicated in the abduction and gang rape of a newlywed housewife, whose driver and husband were killed. Her body was found three days later near a bridge in Tongi. Although arrested by Lance Major Nasser and handed over to the police, Mozammel was released, reportedly due to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's intervention.
Anthony Mascarenhas briefly mentioned Mozammel's involvement in this crime in his 1986 book Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood.[7]
The incident has been also depicted in novel Deyal by Humayun Ahmed.[citation needed]
Role in the Liberation War
editDuring the independence war of Bangladesh, he worked as a freedom fighter of Gazipur and an organizer of the liberation war. On March 19, 1971, in the first war of resistance in Gazipur, he led the frontal war against Brigadier Jahan Zeb under the orders of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the convener of the Armed Resistance Committee.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Anisul: Qamrul, Mozammel need not to resign". Dhaka Tribune. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Mozammel demands Zia's DNA test". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Lack of management mounts sufferings for holidaymakers". Dhaka Tribune. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Shishu Park to be removed from Shahbagh". The Daily Star. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Honorable Minister". molwa.gov.bd. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ "Bangladesh opposition to boycott elections". Al Jazeera. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-340-39420-5.
- ^ "Hon'ble Minister - Ministry of Liberation War Affairs - Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh" (in Bengali). 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.