Abu Taher - Post-liberation Activities

Post-liberation Activities

Following his return, Taher was reinstated into Bangladesh Army in April due to severe short of personnel as many remained stranded in Pakistan. He received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and in June 1972 was appointed Commanding Officer of 44th Battalion of East Bengal Regiment at the Comilla Cantonment. However, due to his left-leaning communist ideas of organising and reforming the Bangladesh Army in the model of the Chinese army he resigned from the Bangladesh Army and joined Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (National Socialist Party). As Abu Taher's ideas of a social revolution with a central communist army grew, a mutiny rebellion followed on November 3, 1975 among senior officers in the army, which Taher quickly took advantage of and created a sense of dissent among ranking Non-Commissioned Officers and regular soldiers. Abu Taher incited and organised a socialist uprising of the soldiers on 7 November 1975. Quite a significant number of military officers and their wives were attacked and killed by these soldiers. Zia was forced to arrest Taher under charges of treason and murder. Taher was arrested on 24 November 1975. He was tried by a military tribunal inside the Dhaka Central Jail and was sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on 21 July 1976.