Shariful Haque Dalim

Military

On 1971, Dalim was in West Pakistan and opted to enter India to join the Mukti Bahini in Bangladesh Liberation War. After his defection he served as the Aide-de-camp to commander of Z Force lieutenant colonel Ziaur Rahman. In acknowledgment of his role and contributions, he was awarded the title of Bir Uttom and was promoted to the rank of major.^[7]

After the independence of Bangladesh however, Dalim while serving as squadron commander for the Bengal Lancers was dismissed due to breach of discipline in 1974.^[8]

Diplomatic

In 1976, he was sent as a diplomat to China after being assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dalim voluntarily retires from army the same year for enlisting with the foreign affairs ministry.^[3] On 1980, he joined the London High Commission under orchestration of high commissioner Fakhruddin Ahmed.^[9] In 1982, he served as high commissioner for Hong Kong and then ambassador for Kenya six years later.^[3][10] At the same time he was given charge of Tanzania and also permanent representative of Bangladesh to UNEP and HABITAT.^[3] He also held the special responsibility of overall supervision of the army personnel to be sent as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force during the war in Somalia. He retired from government service in 1995.^[3]

15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état

Dalim, along with a few other officers of the army including major Syed Faruque Rahman and major Khandaker Abdur Rashid, planned a coup which took place on 15 August 1975. He was asked to lead the attack on Dhanmondi 32 but he refused to do so. He was then given charge of the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment proxying major Rashid. As the coup was taking place, Dalim took control of Bangladesh Betar Radio station and made an announcement stating,

I am Major Dalim speaking; autocrat Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has been killed. The army led by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad has taken over power. Curfew has been declared.^[11]

During the speech, he also unofficially announced the proclamation of an Islamic Republic. However, this would later be ignored.^[12] Meanwhile, Brigade Commander Brigadier Quazi Golam Dastgir immediately phoned the radio station and ordered them not to broadcast Dalim's announcement.^[13]

After the coup, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad succeeded him as the president. The new president declared martial law and passed the 1975 Indemnity Act which provided legal protection to those involved in the coup.^[14][15][16] After the killing of then president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975, he was reinstated in Bangladesh Army and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the Armed Forces Division for a brief time.

3 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état

During the initial stages of Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf's coup, Dalim and Lt. Colonel Noor went over to the cantonment to surrender.^[12] They also negotiated with President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed on behalf of General Musharraf and Dalim personally tried to convince retired General Osmani and Lt. Colonel Rashid to surrender. Eventually, he convinced General Musharraf and Colonel Shafaat Jamil to accept a deal wherein all 17 men who planned Mujib's assassination, including Dalim, would go into exile.^[12]

Public appearance

Shariful Haque Dalim had been in hiding for an extended period due to his controversial role in Bangladesh's political history, particularly his involvement in the 1975 military coup that resulted in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Convicted in absentia for his role in the coup, he faced legal and political challenges during Sheikh Hasina's rule, which made his return to public life difficult.^[19][20]

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime and the political upheaval in Bangladesh in August 2024, Dalim resurfaced publicly on 5 January 2025, in a live interview on the YouTube channel of expatriate journalist Elias Hossain. In the interview, Dalim spoke about his life in hiding, contemporary political issues, and his perspective on his role in shaping Bangladeshi history.^[21]