Ershad to be buried tomorrow
The body of Jatiya Party chairman and former president HM Ershad will be buried with state honour tomorrow under supervision of the army, said Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) yesterday.
Before the burial, his second namaz-e-janaza will be held at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad at 10:30am today. His body will then be kept at the Jatiya Party’s central office in the capital’s Kakrail from 3:00pm for the people.
Then the body will be kept at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) mortuary following his third namaz-e-janaza at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Asr prayers.
On Tuesday morning, his body will be flown to his ancestral home in Rangpur where his last namaz-e-janaza will be held at 10:30am on Eidgah ground.
Later, his body will be brought back to Dhaka for burial at the Banani army graveyard after Johr prayers.
Ershad had been suffering from various ailments including infection to his lungs and kidneys. He was admitted to CMH on June 26 and kept at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
CONDOLENCES POUR IN
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed deep condolences at the death of Ershad.
The Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, cabinet members, different political parties, social and cultural organisations, civic platforms and noted personalities also mourned the departure of the former president.
President Abdul Hamid, in his condolence message, expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Ershad.
In a separate message, the prime minister recalled the JP chairman’s constructive role as the opposition leader in parliament, reports UNB.
They both expressed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members of Ershad and prayed for salvation of the departed soul.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also expressed shock at the demise of the senior politician and prayed for eternal peace of the soul.
After suffering from various health complications for the last couple of months, the former military ruler breathed his last at 7:45am yesterday at CMH in Dhaka. He was 89.
Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, Chief Whip Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury as well as Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Foreign Affairs Minister Abdul Momen, Planning Minister MA Mannan, Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar, Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Environment Minister Shahab Uddin and Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujon mourned his death.
Among others, Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Kader Siddique, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasad) President Hasanul Haq Inu, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President ASM Abdur Rob, Zaker Party and Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB), also expressed condolences.
Almost all the top leaders of JP, including its acting chairman and Ershad’s brother GM Quader, secretary general Moshiur Rahman Ranga, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and Workers’ President Party Rashed Khan Menon, top army officials as well as activists of different levels and people from all strata joined the first namaz-e-janaza of Ershad that held yes-terday.
At a press conference at the city’s Central Road’s party office, local leaders of JP in Rangpur urged the party top leaders to bury Ershad at his hometown Rangpur instead of the capital.