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Matiur Rahman (Bangla: মতিউর রহমান) or Shaheed M. Matiur Rahman (born February 21, 1945 in Dhaka - died August 20 1971) was a Flight Lieutenant in the Pakistan Air Force when the Liberation War broke out.
On August 20, 1971 he attempted to pilot a T-33 trainer from Karachi, Pakistan to India in order to defect from the Pakistan Air Force and join the liberation movement of Bangladesh. He didn't make it though, as the other pilot in the plane forced it to crash.
For this attempt, he was awarded the Bir Sreshtho by Bangladesh which is the highest honor given. The Bangladesh Air Force's Air Base at Jessore is also named for him. This same base is home to the air force academy of Bangladesh.
Interestingly enough, Rahman is viewed in a negative light in Pakistan. This is due to the fact that he tried to defect, but more importantly because the pilot who flew with him, Rashid Minhas is viewed as a hero in Pakistan. Minhas is given almost parallel treatment in Pakistan and was awarded that nation's highest award the Nishan-E-Haider and also has an air base named for him. Official accounts of Minhas' actions in Pakistan never include the name of Rahman. And likewise, official accounts of Rahman's actions do not include the name of Minhas in Bangladesh.
His remains are still at Masroor Air Force Base, Pakistan. Some attempts have been made to bring his remains to Bangladesh, but have not been successful to date.
The base of Bangladesh Air Force in Jessore has been named Matiur Rahman Air Base.
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, the other pilot in the aircraft was a trainee pilot. Its on record that Ft. Lt. Mati ur Rehman highjacked the plane while it was taxying for a routine training flight and neutralised PO Rashid by using cloroform. Rashid regain conciousness when the aircraft was within 100 miles of the border and tried unsuccessfully to regain control of the aircraft from a far more experienced pilot sitting in the instructors seat. Preferring to embrace martyrdom instead of becoming a POW and allowing a traitor from defecting to an enemy with the military secrets of his country, young PO Minhas, who was barely out of his teens, crashed the aircraft 64 miles from the border and was awarded Nishan e Haidar which is the highest award for gallantry awarded by the Government of Pakistan.
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