Saifur laid to rest

Namaz-e-janaza of former finance minister and BNP leader M Saifur Rahman was held at Shahi Eidgah ground in Sylhet yesterday.Photo: STAR

Former finance minister M Saifur Rahman was laid to eternal rest at his Baharmordan home in Moulvibazar yesterday.
Two more namaj-e-janazas were held in Sylhet and Moulvibazar which people in large number attended.
Saifur, died in a tragic road crash Saturday. He was buried around six in the evening beside his wife Durre Samad Rahman as per his wish.
Hundreds of his colleagues in politics, admirers, well-wishers and relatives thronged the graveyard to pay their tribute. BNP leaders M Morshed Khan, Big Gen (retd) Hannan Shah, Abdullah Al Noman, mayor of Habiganj municipality GM Gaus, mayor Of Moulvibazar municipality Fayzul Karim Mayun, ex-lawmaker Ilyas Ali were present there, among others.
Earlier a namaj-e-janaza was held at the playground of Moulvibazar Government High School at 4:45pm. Thousands of people irrespective of political party affiliation attended the janaza.
After the janaza his body was taken to his village home in a motorcade. Hundreds of people stood on both sides of the highway to bid farewell to Saifur as the motorcade was progressing on Moulvibazar-Sylhet highway.
Earlier when his body was kept at his hometown thousands of people thronged to have the last glimpse of the late leader. Some were seen shedding tears. Several residential buildings and commercial establishments hoisted black flags mourning the death of Saifur.
Following a call from Moulvibazar Businessmen Association, local businessmen and traders kept their establishments closed from 4:00pm to 6:00pm in memory of Saifur Rahman.
Awami League lawmaker Syed Mohsin Ali, who defeated Saifur Rahman in the December 29, 2008 parliamentary elections by a margin of 42,000 votes, told The Daily Star that people of Moulvibazar including him have lost a guardian.
Our staff correspondent in Sylhet reports: Over one lakh people from all walks of life and irrespective of political affiliation joined the former finance minister Saifur Rahman's janaza at Shahi Eidgah Maidan at 1:20pm.
Traffic movement on several streets of Sylhet city came to a complete halt for an hour as the body was brought to the Sylhet Central Shaheed Minar, where people paid their homage to the late leader.
Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran received the body at the Shaheed Minar at 12:05pm. Saifur Rahman's son Kaiser Rahman brought the body from the capital.
Local leaders of Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, JSD, BSD, CPB, Workers Party and others in addition to the social and cultural organisations mourned his demise and placed floral wreaths on the body.
Imam and Khatib of Central Bandar Bazaar Jame Mosque Maulana Abdur Rahman led the janaza at the Shahi Eidgah Maidan. Central BNP leaders Abdullah Al Noman and Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah, former Sylhet municipality chairman AFM Kamal, Mayor Kamran and Saifur's son Kaiser addressed the packed Eidgah briefly before the janaza.
Then the body was taken to Moulvibazar for the last janaza before his burial.