M Khademul Bashar, Bir Uttom (1 September 1935 – 1 September 1976) 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.
Early life
Bashar was born in Bogura on 1 September 1935. He passed his matriculation from Satkhira Prananath High School and intermediate from Rajshahi College. He joined the Pakistan Air Force as a flight cadet in 1955.[1]
Career
He was commissioned as a GD Pilot in PAF in 1956. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Pakistan Military Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander in 1970 and was posted to Dhaka.[2] As Wing Commander he served as Senior Operations Officer of Tejgaon Air Base, including with responsibility of overall security of Dhaka International Airport until 27 March 1971.[citation needed] Group Captain A. K. Khandker, Bashar, and several other pilots defected in May 1971 and escaped to India.[3] He was among the only two BAF officers appointed BDF Sector Commander during Bangladesh War of Independence with Pakistan by C-in-C Colonel M.A.G Osmani who appointed him BDF Commander Sector 6. The other officer was Squadron Leader M. Hamidullah Khan, who was serving as Asst. Provost Marshal and second in command of security and investigations at PAF Tejgaon Air Base and Dacca International Airport until March 1971. Later on November 3 C-in-C Col. M.A.G Osmani appointed M. Hamidullah Khan as BDF Commander Sector 6.[citation needed]
After the independence of Bangladesh he also served as a brigade commander in Rangpur. He was promoted to the rank of Group Captain in 1972. In 1973 he was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore. In 1976 he was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal and on 1st May 1976 he was appointed the Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force. [4]
Death
Bashar died on 1 September 1976 in an air crash in his (at the time) moderns fighter chengdu-f6. He was attending the inauguration of the Flying Instructors School at Tejgaon in Dhaka. On its maiden flight, an NZAI Air Tourer rolled over and crashed nose down into the airfield. Both the pilot Sqn Ldr Haq and Bashar were killed instantly.[5] BAF Base at Tejgaon, Dhaka has been renamed Base Bashar in his honour.
