Ex-MP SA Khaleque passes away

SA Khaleque, former Member of Parliament (MP) and vice president of the Dhaka city unit of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), passed away this afternoon at United Hospital in Dhaka. He was 85.

Khaleque, who also served as the deputy mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation, died around 3:30pm, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.

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Khaleque had been battling various age-related health complications and was admitted to United Hospital last Wednesday after his condition worsened.

He was placed on a ventilator last night as his health further deteriorated.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir visited the ailing leader this morning, just hours before his death.

Khaleque's Namaz-e-Janaza will be held at 12:00pm tomorrow in front of the BNP's Nayapaltan central office, followed by another Janaza at 2:00pm at Mirpur Bangla College.

He will be buried at his family graveyard near Gabtali Mirpur Shahi Mosque.

Khaleque joined the BNP through its founder, Ziaur Rahman, and was first elected as an MP in 1979 from the Dhaka-14 constituency. He later served as an MP from Dhaka-11 under the Jatiya Party in the 1986 and 1988 elections. He rejoined the BNP before the 1996 elections and was re-elected as an MP from Dhaka-11 in 1996 and 2001.