Matiur Rahman (military pilot)

Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman (মতিউর রহমান) or M. Matiur Rahman (October 29, 1942 in Dhaka - August 20, 1971) was a pilot in the Pakistan Air Force when the Liberation War broke out.

For his attempt to defect from the Pakistan Air Force, he was decorated with the Bir Sreshtho award by Bangladesh which is the highest honor given. The Bangladesh Air Force's Air Base at Jessore is also named after him.

Death
On August 20, 1971 he attempted to hijack 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. However, Matiur Rahman could not take the plane out of Pakistani territory. The plane crashed in Thatta, 40 kilometres from the Indian border, because of the struggle to regain control of the plane by a Pakistani Air Force pilot, Rashid Minhas (a national hero of Pakistan). His body, which was found near the crash site, was buried at the military graveyard at Masroor Air Base. Matiur's widow, Milly, and his two infant daughters were imprisoned for a month by Pakistan Air Force, and were released on September 29, 1971.

Grave transfer
After over 30 years of negotiations, Motiur's body was finally returned to Bangladesh on June 24, 2006 for a ceremonial and highly symbolic reburial in 2006. He was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard, in Mirpur, Dhaka, with full military honours. His original burial in a nondescript grave in Pakistan had been a sore point between Bangladesh and Pakistan for decades.