Kazi Zafar Ahmed
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Kazi Zafar Ahmed was born in 1939 in Chittagong, and is mainly known as 'The Sugar Zafar' (Sugar Thief). He was originally a leader at the Dhaka University. He served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 20 March 1989 to 6 December 1990.
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[edit] Political career
Kazi was part of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and served Zia as the education minister. After his death, he later joined the party of Ershad, the Jatiya Party. During Ershad’s regime Zafar became the Prime Minister. It's reported that Kazi Zafar created artificial crisis to import sugar from overseas. He served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 20 March 1989 to 6 December 1990.
[edit] Sugar Zafar
He was known in Bangladesh as "Sugar Zafar" because of his alleged role in the hijacking of an aid shipment of sugar.[1] He sold thousands of tonnes of sugar, sent to Bangladesh as relief for the flood affected people, in the black market and made millions of dollars. Sugar price hiked so high that even the urban middle classes found it expensive. To make money many greedy businessmen mixed urea (very fine and white fertilizer) with sugar and sold them. People started suffering from kidney problems as urea damages kidneys. Since the premiership of Kazi Zafar, deaths due to kidney failure multiplied. He was so hated by the common people that they named sugar after him "Zafar". People would say at grocery shops “give me 250 grams of Zafar”. After a decade since the fall of Ershad, still people call him Chini Zafar. Some of his associates were involved in smuggling sugar. He was found guilty in one of the corruption cases filed against him a few years ago.[2]
[edit] Corruption of funds
As the prime minister of Ershad govt, Zafar used his authority to develop his family property. In Khulna Zafar’s family owns a hundred acres of lands. Zafar declared to donate that huge block of land for a proposed cancer hospital and allotted thousands of tonnes of wheat sent to Bangladesh as foreign aid for “food for work” program to develop the property. But once the property is developed Zafar, instead of handing the property to the hospital as promised, turned the land into real estate business with a massive turn over. Obviously the so called “cancer institute’ is one of Zafarite trick to make money using foreign aids. After the fall of dictator Ershad, Zafar like his other mates, disappeared to save his skin from peoples’ grunts. During the Khaleda Zia regime (as it was agreed on by the anti Ershad alliance) all the Ershad’s cabinet ministers, including Zafar, were put on trial on corruption charges. Zafar used his political influence (Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan being one of his old mates in the key position of BNP govt) to delay his trial indefinitely. But the fate betrayed him when, to his utter dismay, Awami League came to the power in the next election. Knowing that he could not delay his trial during the Awami League government as he had nobody to intervene in the judicial process, Zafar sat with a dozen of top solicitors of to discuss his chances. All agreed that Zafar would not be able to escape conviction. Having no option left Zafar decided to leave Bangladesh and take political shelter in some western countries.[3]
[edit] Sheltering in Australia
Mr Ahmed has been living with his family in Sydney and receives a disability support pension. He told Australian radio he had been granted refugee status because his life was in danger in Bangladesh, and has been granted refugee status by the Howard Government.
In Australia one of his relatives and a Maost supporter, Anis Chowdhury, took initiative to rehabilitate Zafar in Australian society. He approached a few Bangladeshi community leaders to welcome his fallen leader in the community. The community leaders declined to revive the fallen angel. Some for fear of being defamed by the community some afraid of losing their leadership to this shamelessly cunning Machiavellian. Failing to establish Zafar in the local Bangladeshi community, Anis and Mizan Chowdhury (another veteran Maoist presently pretending to be politically neutral and a moderate Muslim to keep his voluntary position as the chair of BHHP Migrant resource Centre) moved to place him in Australian community using his former status of which the Australians are absolutely unaware of and manipulating some of the academics and politicians.
| Preceded by Moudud Ahmed |
Prime Minister of Bangladesh 20 March 1989 – 6 December 1990 |
Succeeded by Khaleda Zia |
[edit] References
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