Md. Hafizur Rahman

After graduating in 1925, Hafizur Rahman worked as an assistant lecturer at Dhaka University until he joined the Bengal Civil Service on July 8, 1926. From August 1928 to July 1938, he served in various districts of Bengal, fulfilling the duties of a Magistrate Revenue Officer. He also worked in the Co-operative Department as an Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies.[3] In 1942, he became an assistant secretary in the Home (Defense) Department and also was the deputy secretary, public health and local self-government department until the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.[1][2]

After the establishment of Pakistan, Hafizur Rahman held several administrative posts until 1951.[2] He served as Additional District Magistrate in Dhaka and held positions of Director of Textiles in the Government of East Pakistan, Director of Procurement and Distribution in the Civil Supplies Department.[1][3][4]

Joint Secretary Hafizur Rahman (front row, third from left) with a delegation, 1956

In 1951, Hafizur Rahman was promoted to the Civil Service of Pakistan.[2] In 1953, he became the Chief Controller of Jute Regulations and District Magistrate of Backergunge District. He actively participated in international conferences as member of Pakistan's delegation, including the ECOSOC Conference in Geneva in 1954.

After returning from Geneva, he served as Joint Secretary in the Planning Board of the Government of East Pakistan and later as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of the Government of Pakistan until his retirement from the CSP in 1957.[1][3][2][4]

Later that same year, Hafizur Rahman was reappointed Officer on Special Duty, with the status of Divisional Food Commissioner, in the Department of Food, Government of East Pakistan[1][3][2][4] until he was withdrawn from his posts by General Iskandar Ali Mirza when he became Governor.[15]

Left to right: Cabinet ministers Hafizur Rahman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, F.M Khan, Abul Kashem Khan, K.M Sheikh, Muhammad Ibrahim, W.A.K. Burki, & Mohammad Azam Khan with President Ayub Khan, November 1958

After Muhammad Ayub Khan came to power on October 1958, Hafizur Rahman was appointed as Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government of Pakistan.[15][5][16] In 1959, he led the Pakistan delegation to the 10th Session of the F.A.O. conference in Rome. In order to study the developments that the European countries have attained in the various sectors of agriculture, he also visited Spain, U.K.,[17] Holland, Turkey and Syria.[3][2] He led a short-term plan to establish 500 tube wells and 3,000 open wells to enhance agricultural productivity within Pakistan,[18] and saw through a controlled irrigation project spanning vast acres of land in East Pakistan.[19]

Hafizur Rahman (second from right) with Prince Philip, Akhter Husain, Habibur Rahman, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, February 1959

In 1960, after a reshuffling of portfolios between the Ministers of the Presidential Cabinet Minister, Hafizur Rahman was made Minister of Commerce.[6][3] At times, he also held the portfolio of Tourism.[20]

As East Pakistani federal ministers of the central government, Hafizur Rahman, A. K. Khan, Muhammad Ibrahim, Habibur Rahman served a crucial role in upholding the interests of East Pakistan for its development.[11][13][12][21]

Hafizur Rahman emphasized that the economic disparity between East and West Pakistan was mainly due to the failure of former politicians from East Pakistan to safeguard their province's interests. He highlighted that the current government had invested significantly in East Pakistan, with average annual development expenditure rising from 170.2 million rupees (1955-58) to 310.9 million rupees (1958-60). However, he asserted that despite these efforts, more substantial measures would be required to effectively end the economic disparity between the two wings after decades of exploitation.[22]

The Bengali ministers focus on economic disparity between East and West Pakistan laid the groundwork for the later formulation of the six-point demands. However, to curtail their influence, ministerial portfolios were subject to constant divisions and changes, resulting in significant reductions in the portfolios of the four Bengali ministers without prior input or consensus.[11][13][12]

As these conflicts were evolving within Pakistan, Hafizur Rahman engaged in several key trade agreements and diplomatic missions with various countries, aiming to enhance economic cooperation and foster international relations.

Hafizur Rahman with Alec Douglas-Home British Foreign Secretary, 1960

In June 1960, Hafizur Rahman received the Prime Minister of Northern Nigeria Ahmadu Bello in Karachi to discuss bilateral ties between Northern Nigeria and Pakistan.[23]

On January 12, 1960, Hafizur Rahman and William M. Rountree, United States Ambassador to Pakistan signed the Treaty of Friendship between Pakistan and the United States which provided favored nation status between the two countries and reduced trade barriers.[23]

Hafizur Rahman exchanging the signed Trade Agreement with Lal Bahadur Shastri, March 1960

In March 1960, a trade delegation led by Hafizur Rahman visited New Delhi to negotiate with his counterpart Lal Bahadur Shastri and sign the Indo-Pakistan Trade Agreement which created special arrangements for trade between the countries.[24][25]

On June 29, 1960, Hafizur Rahman held discussions with Law Minister Muhammad Ibrahim regarding the appropriate course of action in response to Ayub Khan's speeches, inclinations, and actions concerning the Constitution that he was making changes to. Privately, the ministers concurred on demanding provincial autonomy for East Pakistan in all matters except defense, foreign policy, and currency, which they considered as the minimum requirement to fulfill East Pakistan's needs and safeguard it from exploitation.[11][13][12]

In May 1961, he led a ministerial level delegation to Burma to discuss rice exports to meet Pakistan's rice needs and food security.[26]

Hafizur Rahman (forth from left) with Ayub Khan, I H Usmani, M H Zuberi, Ghulam Ishaq Khan viewing the PINSTECH model presented by Edward Durell Stone, November 1961

On November 6, 1961, Hafizur Rahman welcomed the U.S. Investment Development Mission led by David E. Westly from the U.S. Department of Commerce to discuss the prospects of developing trade in manufacturing goods for the United States Markets.[27][28]

On December 1961, he met the Burmese trade delegation again in Pakistan to finalize imports to meet the major portion of East Pakistan's rice demands.[26]

On January 16, 1962, Hafizur Rahman began trade talks with Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with T. B. Ilangaratne to enhance and expand Pakistan-Ceylon trade relations.[29]

In March 1962, the new constitution unveiled by Ayub Khan vested all executive authority of the republic in the president. Throughout the Ayub years, East Pakistan and West Pakistan grew farther apart. The new constitution contributed further to the resentment as it did not provide the concessions that the East Pakistanis have been asking for. One change from prior was that the provinces would run their separate provincial governments. To that effect, Hafizur Rahman had internally decided to join the provincial government in East Pakistan.[30]

That same month, Hafizur Rahman addressed the international jute conference and stressed the importance of price stabilization for the mutual benefit of sellers and buyers, underscoring the need for implementing measures like the creation of a buffer stock based on the Jute Inquiry Commissioner's recommendation.[31]

In May 1962, Hafizur Rahman headed a trade promotion mission to a number of Middle-East countries. Between May 9 and 12, 1962, he led an official trade delegation to Baghdad, Iraq, resulting in a formal trade agreement between the two countries. The agreement facilitated the exchange of rice, jute, electrical materials, and other industrial products from Pakistan for Iraqi cement, petroleum products, and dates.[32][33][34] In Beirut, Lebanon, he held discussions with Lebanese of Food and Agriculture; and Economic Minister, Rafie Naja and business representatives to explore the prospects of promoting trade between Pakistan and Lebanon.[33] He led a similar trip to Cairo, United Arab Republic.[35] On May 20, 1962, Hafizur Rahman signed a new Trade and Payments Agreement with Iran in Tehran. The agreement aimed to restart trade between Pakistan and Iran.[34]

Upon his return from the trip to the Middle East, on May 28, 1962,[36] Hafizur Rahman resigned as the Commerce Minister in the central government and moved back to East Pakistan. On the same day, he was appointed as the provincial Minister of Finance and Planning of East Pakistan under the new constitution enacted a few months earlier.[3][7]

Hafizur Rahman meeting Barbara Castle, January 1965

Hafizur Rahman was sworn in as Finance Minister of East Pakistan on May 29th, 1962. His first task was to tackle the tea shortage in Pakistan by assuring the public that there was sufficient tea in stock for domestic use, while attributing the cause of the shortage to large tea exports, necessary for driving East Pakistan's economic growth.[37]

Hafizur Rahman represented Pakistan as the leader of the delegation during a successful mission to Tokyo, Japan, in March 1964, focusing on obtaining aid for the country's development and the establishment of a proposed steel mill, which was seen as a crucial step in the country's fight against poverty and efforts to boost the local economy.[3][38][39]

In January 1965, Hafizur Rahman met with Barbara Castle, the British Minister for Overseas Development, in Dacca to discuss possible assistance that the U.K. Government could provide for the Province's development projects, with focus on addressing economic disparities in East Paskitan.[40]

Throughout his tenure, he also held the portfolios of Commerce and Industry at various times.[41] Rahman aggressively pursued policies aimed at bridging the economic disparity between East and West Pakistan. He emphasized the need to examine demands for separate industrial units based on economic and physical advantages and stressed the importance of industrializing East Pakistan to address the economic imbalance and bridge the gap of disparity between the two wings of the country.[42] He urged industrialists and bankers to create more capital in East Pakistan.[43] He was party to massive developmental projects including development of the Chalna Anchorage, a milk plant in Dacca, construction of bridges and introduction of mechanized farming in East Pakistan.[23] He retired from his post in 1965.[8]

Hafizur Rahman (center) with Khuda Buksh (right)

After retirement, he became actively involved in furthering economic development in underprivileged areas in East Pakistan. As part of these efforts, he was appointed as an Honorary Adviser to Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (PICIC), with the specific task of overseeing its operations in East Pakistan. This appointment aimed to increase PICIC's assistance and support to less developed regions, aligning with Hafizur Rahman's expertise and experience as a former Central Minister and Finance Minister of East Pakistan.[9]

After Bangladesh emerged as a new state, Hafizur Rahman continued to contribute to the development of Bangladesh's post-war broken economy under the Presidency of Ziaur Rahman.[10]

• Founder and Chairman of Great Eastern Insurance Company (1965-1972)[3][44]
• Chairman of Alfa Tobacco till 1972
• Chairman of Tea Enquiry Committee, 1968[45]
• Chairman of National Ceramic Industries of Pakistan Ltd[3]
• Chairman of Pakistan Jute and Gunnies Exchange Ltd[3]
• Chairman of Eastern Milk Products[3]
• Chairman of Co-operative Union Ltd[3]
• Chairman of Prices Enquiry Committee[46]
• Chairman of Food and And Agriculture Council, Pakistan[47]
• Chairman of Pakistan Insurance Corporation (1969-1970)[48][49]
• Chairman of National Insurance Corporation (1972-1973)
• Vice- Chairman Industrial Promotion Services of Pakistan[3][50]
• Director, State Bank of Pakistan (1966-1971)[3][51]
• Director, National Bank of Pakistan[52]
• Director, Investment Corporation of Pakistan (inception-1971)[3]
• Director, Karnafully Rayon and Chemicals[3]
• President of Dhaka University Alumni Association (1973-1975)