President mourns death of A K Khandker

President Mohammed Shahabuddin has expressed deep sorrow at the death of Air Vice Marshal retired A K Khandker, Bir Uttam, deputy chief of staff of the Liberation War and the first chief of the Bangladesh Air Force.

A condolence message was issued from the President’s Office on Saturday.

Air Vice Marshal A K Khandker, Bir Uttam, died of old age at 10:35am on Saturday. He was 95. The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate confirmed the information.

Born on January 1, 1930, Abdul Karim Khandker was widely known as A K Khandker. A man of a distinguished career, he was elected a member of parliament from the Pabna-2 constituency in the 2009 general election.

He took part in the Liberation War of Bangladesh and served as deputy commander-in-chief during the war. He later served as planning minister of the Bangladesh government and also held the post of Bangladesh high commissioner to India and Australia.