A. K. Khandker

Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Abdul Karim Khandker, Bir Uttom (born 1930) is a former planning minister of the Government of Bangladesh.

Abdul Karim Khandker was born under the rule of the British Raj on 31 October 1930 into the Bengali Muslim Khandker family of Pabna Town, one of the respected families of Pabna town.

His father was Abdul Lateef Khandker and his mother was Arefa Khatun.

He completed his matriculation in 1947 and ISC in 1949.

Khandker started his service career as GD Pilot in 1951.

He Completed his graduation from PAF College in September 1952 and PSA in 1965 from Pakistan Air Force Staff College.

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.

Khandker was Squadron Commander at Pakistan Air Force Academy till 1961.

Afterwards, he became Squadron Commander of Jet Fighter Conversion Squadron where he served till 1965.

He became PSA in 1965 from Pakistan Air Force Staff College.

He served as Officer Commanding of Training wing at PAF Academy in 1966.

A K Khandker was President of PAF Planning Board from 1966 to 1969.

Later, he was posted at Dhaka as Second in Command of PAF Base in 1969.

Khandker was posted in the Pakistan Air force Base in Dhaka as Second-in-Command when the Liberation War began in 1971.

He defected with Wing Commander M. K. Bashar and several other pilots in May 1971 and reached India.

The then Bangladesh Government of Mujibnagar appointed him as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, and was given the responsibility of operation and also training of the freedom fighters.

He closely interacted with the senior officials of the Indian Eastern Command located at Fort William, Kolkata about training strategies for the Freedom Fighters as well as for overall operation.

He established the first ever Bangladesh Air Force in Dimapur, Nagaland during the war.

The Bangladesh Air Force with its limited manpower and resources of only 09 officers, 57 airmen, and 03 aircraft carried out significant numbers of operation against the Pakistani invaders.

He represented Bangladesh in the surrender ceremony of the Pakistani forces to the allied forces on 16 December 1971 at the Racecourse ground.

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 (Bangladesh) get the appointment immediately after the independence of Bangladesh in 1972.

He received the gallantry award of Bir Uttom in 1972 for his luminous role in the Liberation War.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, following the independence, appointed Khandker 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 a fighter squadron, a helicopter squadron, and 2 radar units to its strength.

He served the Bangladesh Air Force as its Chief during the period 1972–1975.

Apart from serving the Bangladesh Air Force, he was the first Chairman of the national carrier Bangladesh Biman for the period 1972–1973.

Khandker was appointed as the Bangladesh High Commissioner in Australia and served the mission during 1976–1982.

Later on, he became the Bangladesh High Commissioner in India 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 parliament in 1998 and 2009 from the Pabna-2 constituency (Sujanagar Upazila).

During the tenure of the immediate past Government of 2001–2006, Khandker is credited as the main architect of establishing the "Sector Commanders Forum" by organising Sector and Sub-Sector Commanders of the liberation war that waged strong movement against pro-Jamat and other alleged war criminals.

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

He was awarded the Independence Award for 2011.

In 2014, Khandaker wrote his memoirs "1971 Bhetore Baire" (1971: Inside and Outside) and was praised by historian Sirajul Islam who said that "the book provided a balanced presentation of history and the outline of the war and the interest of different vested groups surrounding the war came up in it."

The criticises the role of Awami League leadership during the Liberation saying that the political leadership had failed to play its due role.

However, it drew ire from the ruling Awami League government, for creating "distorting historic facts" the history of the Bangladesh Liberation War, as he wrote in his book that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ended his 7 March speech with "Joy Pakistan."