Speakers take part in a memorial meeting on Zia Ahmed, the late chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, at the Engineers Institution auditorium in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: STAR

Zia Ahmed was commended as a true professional passionate about the welfare of the telecom sector and the country, speakers said at the meeting held to mourn his death.
As chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Ahmed had discussed with different government bodies before taking any significant decision about the telecom sector, they said.
Ahmed died on September 10 from a cardiac arrest.
The telecom ministry and BTRC held the memorial meeting at the Engineers Institution Auditorium in Dhaka yesterday.
“Zia was a man with a hard shell and a soft core," said Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, who was telecom minister before his latest assignment as labour minister.
“Nobody could understand that there were songs inside him.”
As the telecom regulator, Ahmed, then a retired major general, used to coordinate among consumers, government officials and entrepreneurs, said the newly appointed information minister, Hasanul Haq Inu.
Ahmed was passionate about the telecom sector, Inu said.
Asaduzzaman Noor, a cultural activist and lawmaker, said Ahmed wanted to work for the welfare of the country.
Syed Shamsul Haque, eminent writer and poet, discussed the creative mind and writings of Ahmed, who was the son of famous litterateur Sarder Zainuddin Ahmed.
Haque said Ahmed was a true poet with a strong ability to express his sorrow and joy in small pieces of verse.
Sunil Kanti Bose, telecom secretary who presided over the programme, said Ahmed would be remembered for his work.
Ahmed never approved any document before reading and understanding, he said.
Ahmed was born on July 26, 1954 in Sujanagar of Pabna. He studied at Tejgaon Polytechnic High School and Notre Dame College in Dhaka and served as a commissioned officer in the army.
He was appointed the head of the telecom regulator in February 2009.