The mortal remains of Public Administration Minister and former general secretary of Awami League (AL) Syed Ashraful Islam has arrived.
A flight of Bangladesh Biman, carrying Syed Ashraf's body, landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 6pm on Saturday (Jan 5).
An AL delegation, led by party General Secretary Obaidul Quader, received the body at the airport.
On Jan 3, the veteran politician died of lung cancer at a Bangkok hospital at the age of 67, four days after being elected an MP of the 11th Parliament.
From the airport, the body was taken to Syed Ashraf’s Bailey Road official residence and is on the way to the Combined Military Hospital mortuary where he will be kept for Saturday night.
His first namaj-e-janaza will be held at the South Plaza of the Parliament at 10:30am on Sunday (Jan 6).
Later, Ashraf’s body will be taken to his home district Kishoreganj by a helicopter where his second janaza will be held at the Old Stadium at 12 noon.
Then the body will be taken to Mymensingh where another janaza will be held at Anjuman Eidgah at 2pm.
His body will be flown back to the capital from Mymensingh and the Awami League leader will be laid to eternal rest at Banani Graveyard after Asr prayers on Sunday.
The news of Syed Ashraf’s death came hours after he sent 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 constituency in the Dec 30 polls.
The son of Syed Nazrul Islam, acting president of the 1971 war-time government, Syed Ashraf left for the UK after the four national leaders including his father were killed inside the Dhaka jail in November 1975 a little over two months after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family was assassinated.
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 2007-8 emergency rule.
He played a key role in strengthening the party when the military-backed caretaker administration sought to punish politicians and banish the two top leaders — Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia.
After the 2008 election, when the Awami League formed the government, he was given the key portfolio of local government.
However, he was removed from the portfolio in 2015 only to be made the public administration minister barely a week later.
After serving as party’s secretary general for eight years, he lost the post in the last council and was made a member of the policymaking Presidium.