Passing of an AL stalwart

Mohammed Nasim, a veteran Awami League leader and a frontline figure in almost all democratic movements in the country, died at a city hospital yesterday.

Nasim, who served in four different cabinet roles during a political career spanning nearly six decades, was 72.

The freedom fighter who had stood by his party through thick and thin breathed his last around 11:10am at Bangladesh Specialized Hospital.

Son of Shaheed Captain M Mansur Ali, one of the four national leaders and a close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Amena Mansur, Nasim died of a cardiac arrest.

"We tried our best to bring back the function of his heart, but failed," Dr Raziul Haque, a doctor at the BSH, told this correspondent.

Survived by his wife, three sons, a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death, Nasim was admitted to the hospital on June 1 as he fell ill.

He was later tested coronavirus positive. He suffered a stroke in the early hours of June 5 and had a successful brain surgery.

But he had been on life support since then as his condition started fluctuating.

Meanwhile, he was tested coronavirus negative in the second and third tests.

The Presidium Member was got involved in politics during his student days. He became active in politics after the killing of his father.

After completing his bachelor degree in political science from Jagannath College (now Jagannath University), he became a popular leader in his constituency-Sirajganj-1 from where he was elected six times, according to information of Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat.

One of the doyens in country's politics, however, he could not participate in the 2008 elections due to a case filed by the then military-backed 1/11 government.

He was subjected to oppression during the autocratic rule of HM Ershad, BNP-Jamaat-led government and the military-backed 1/11 government.

After the 1/11 changeover, Nasim was arrested and spent a long time in jail. He became seriously ill after coming out of jail.

Nasim joined national politics at the AL council in 1981.

At that conference, he was elected the youth secretary of Awami League for the first time.

Later, he was nominated as the party's publicity secretary in 1987.

Mohammad Nasim was made the party's organisational secretary in 1992 and 1997.

Later, at the party conferences in 2002 and 2008, he was made the number one member of the party's executive committee.

In 2012, Nasim was included as a member of the party's presidium, the highest policy-making body of AL.

He held the position for three consecutive terms.

Until his death, Nasim was the spokesperson for Awami League-led 14-party alliance, a platform that had played a vital role to snatch victory at the national election in 1996.

During 1996-2001, he served at the ministries of Home Affairs, Housing and Public Works, and Posts and Telecommunications.

During the 2014-18 tenure of AL government, Nasim served as the health minister. According to different quarters, Nasim couldn't be successful in developing the health sector as required and corruption in the sector was reported in different media.

After the 2018 national election, like other senior AL leaders, Nasim was not included in the cabinet.

Rather, he was made the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on food.

Besides politics, Mohammad Nasim was involved in various social welfare and philanthropic activities. He set up several educational institutions in Dhaka and Sirajganj.

The veteran politician will be laid to rest at the Banani graveyard today where his mother was also laid to rest, AL presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanok, told reporters yesterday.