Hafizuddin Ahmed

Bir Bikrom Hafizuddin Ahmed is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, a retired Bangladesh Army major, and a six-term Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Bhola-3 constituency.

He fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War and was awarded the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh, Bir Bikrom, for his courage.

He is also a retired footballer and one of the few from East Pakistan to have represented the Pakistan national football team.

Ahmed is currently a vice-chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Ahmed's father, Dr. Azharuddin, was a member of the National Council of East Pakistan from Bhola.

A striker, he later joined the Mohammedan SC, in 1967.

He was selected for the Pakistan national football team in 1967.

While playing for the Pakistan and Mohammedan football teams, in 1967, Ahmed was inspired to join the Pakistan Army by the General Secretary of the Pakistan Football Federation, Major Mohammad Hossain Malik.

In 1968, Ahmed received his MA degree in political science from Dhaka University.

Ahmed was a football player during his university days.

Ahmed applied to join the army's Education Corps, and was commissioned in 1968.

He was trained at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Abbottabad.

After being commissioned, he continued his career as a football player and participated in many tournaments.

He won 4 Dhaka League titles with MSC: 1969, 1975, 1976, and 1978.

He also won the Aga Khan Gold Cup title with the Black and Whites.

After the 1970 Bhola cyclone, he, as a captain, with Bravo Company, engaged in relief work at Galachipa, Patuakhali.

Ahmed was at Jagdishpur Village in the border area of Jessore as part of a training exercise.

He was barred from all type of communication there and had no idea of Operation Searchlight, by Pakistan Army, and the declaration of independence of Bangladesh.

He returned to the Jessore Cantonment on 29 March.

He learned from his batman that there was an order for the Baloch Regiment to disarm the East Bengal Regiment, and that 25 Baloch Regiment and 3 Frontier Force had taken up positions in front of the cantonment.

The arsenal had been broken into by East Bengal non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

He joined the Bangladesh Liberation War and asked his commanding officer, Colonel Jalil, to join the war.

But Jalil, who maintained contact with M. A. G. Osmani of the Bangladesh Awami League, refused to join the liberation, as Osmani had asked.

During the subsequent battle, Ahmed fought alongside his troops, but realised that the ammunition they had with them would not be enough to last for more than three hours.

So, he started thinking about an exit plan.

After fighting relentlessly for almost two hours, he finally escaped the cantonment with 200 companions.

In later campaigning, Ahmed, under continuous attack from the Pakistani army, he maintained a free zone at Jessore, including Benapole BOP, from April to mid-May.

During the second week of May 1971, Ahmed was ordered to move to Tura, Meghalaya to join the BDF Sector 11 under Major Ziaur Rahman.

He was selected to lead the Bravo formation as company commander of 1st East Bengal Regiment in Jessore.

He was injured during the Battle of Kamalpur, one of the most significant battles fought by Bangladesh forces in 1971.

Ahmed entered politics as an independent candidate from Bhola.

In 1973, Hafiz became the first after independence to score a double hat-trick in the Dhaka League, as Mohammedan defeated Fire Service SC 6–0.

In 1976 he led the Mohammedan SC team successfully.

He replaced defender Zakaria Pintoo in the job.

Mohammedan SC won the Dacca league title defeating arch rivals Abahani in the final 2–0.

Hafiz scored both the goals.

Mohammedan SC reached the finals of the Aga Khan Gold Cup Football later in the year, beating Sri-Lanka national team 2–1 in the SF.

But they lost to the Penang Football Association Team (Malaysia) 3–0 in the final.

He remained with the Black and Whites until his retirement in 1978.

He was the president of the Bangladesh Football Federation from 1986 until 1989.