Abdul Aziz Pasha

Abdul Aziz Pasha (died 2 June 2001) was a Bangladesh army officer who was convicted for involvement in the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Career Bangladesh Liberation War Pasha had fought for the independence of Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. He was the commanding officer of the first artillery battery raised, which was known as the Mujib Battery. Pasha's companions from the war described him as "an easy going and laid-back" person.

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman On 15 August 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the president of Bangladesh, was assassinated during a military coup. Pasha was one of the 12 confessed assassins. He and Risaldar Moslemuddin gunned down Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's wife, Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib; Sheikh Jamal and his wife, Rosy; and Sheikh Kamal's wife, Sultana.

After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the new government, headed by Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman, appointed Aziz as the first secretary to the Bangladesh embassy in Rome. He was arrested in Dhaka for his role in the 17 June 1980 attempted coup in Bangladesh. He was freed after agreeing to turn state witness. He was then posted to Nairobi, Kenya. He was in Zimbabwe when the Bangladesh Awami League government recalled him to Dhaka. He refused to return and, as a result, was dismissed from the foreign service. He applied for and received political asylum in Zimbabwe.

On 8 November 1998, Pasha, along with 15 other defendants, was sentenced to death for his role in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 14 December 2000, the Bangladesh High Court confirmed his death sentence.

Death Pasha died on 2 June 2001 in Zimbabwe.

Pension The Awami League government, which came to power in 1996, dismissed him from government service. When the Bangladesh Nationalist Party came to power in 2001, they changed the government decision to show that he retired from service. This entitled his widow, Mahfuza Pasha, to his government pension.