Ziaur Rahman - Coup of 1975 and Its Aftermath

Coup of 1975 and Its Aftermath

On 15 August 1975 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were killed by a group of military officers, fed up with the division and disenchantment with Awami League's unchecked and fascist rules, that resulted in rampant looting, rape, illegal land grabbing, civil disorder, law and order deterioration. One of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's cabinet ministers and leading conspirators Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad gained the presidency. He subsequently appointed the co-conspirator Major General Ziaur Rahman as the army chief after removal of Major General K M Shafiullah. However, the coup of 15 August caused a period of instability and unrest in Bangladesh and more so across the ranks and files of the army. Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf and the Dhaka Brigade under Colonel Shafat Jamil made a counter-coup on 3 November 1975, and Ziaur Rahman was forced to resign and was put under house arrest. A third coup was staged under Lieutenant Colonel Abu Taher and a group of socialist military officers and supporters of the left-wing National Socialist Party on 7 November, called the "National Revolution and Solidarity Day" (Sipoy-Janata Biplob) (Soldiers and People's Coup). Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf was killed and Colonel Jamil arrested, while Lt. Colonel Taher freed Ziaur Rahman and re-appointed him as army chief.

Following a major meeting at the army headquarters, an interim government was formed with Justice Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem as chief martial law administrator and Zia, Air Vice Marshal M. G. Tawab and Rear Admiral M. H. Khan as his deputies. Zia also took on the portfolios of home affairs, finance, industry and information along with becoming the chief of army staff. However, discipline in the army had totally collapsed and it was difficult to disarm the soldiers and put them back to the barracks. Fearing that Abu Taher, who in fact rescued him few months earlier, would attempt to organise another revolt, Zia ordered his arrest. Following a secret trial in a military court, Zia authorised the execution of Taher on 21 July 1976. Zia became the chief martial law administrator following Justice Sayem's elevation to the presidency on 19 November 1976. He tried to integrate the armed forces, giving repatriates a status appropriate to their qualifications and seniority. While this angered some veterans of the Mukti Bahini, who had rapidly reached high positions following liberation in 1971, Zia defused potential threats from discontented officers by sending them on diplomatic missions abroad.