The body of deceased Awami League leader Syed Ashraful Islam will be brought back home on Saturday (Jan 4).

A flight carrying his body is set to take off from Bangkok on 4pm and expected to land at the capital’s airport around 6:30pm on Saturday, the public administration minister’s personal secretary Tofazzal Hossain confirmed Bangla Tribune.
The 68-year-old breathed his last around 9.45pm at the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, where he was being treated for lung cancer.
President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mourned his death.
The news of his death came hours after a letter seeking more time from Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury to be sworn in as a lawmaker of the 11th National Parliament.

He took his leave of absence from parliament on Sept 18 last year. Despite his absence, he won from Kishoreganj-1 seat in the Dec 30 polls.

The BNP and opposition alliance Jatiya Oikya Front have also expressed their condolence over the veteran politician's death.

Syed Ashraf was elected an MP from Kishoreganj in 1996, 2001, 2008 and 2014 after returning home.

He was entrusted with the duties of the party’s general secretary when its top brass, including its chief Hasina, was put behind bars during the 2007-08 emergency rule.

Born in Mymensingh in 1952, Syed Ashraf was involved in politics from his student life. He served as the president of Chhatra League’s Mymensingh district unit and later the publicity affairs secretary for its central committee.

His wife Sheila Islam lost the battle with cancer in October 2017.  Syed Ashraf is survived by a daughter.