BNP leader Moudud Ahmed passes away

BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed passed away during undergoing treatment in a hospital in Singapore on Tuesday. He was 81.

He breathed his last at Mount Elizabeth Hospital around 6:30pm (local) time, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Press Wing staff Sayrul Kabir Khan told the Business Insider Bangladesh.

He had been suffering from serious kidney complications and was struggling to get oxygen due to lung congestion.

Moudud is survived by his wife Hasna Moudud and a daughter. His two sons had died earlier.

The 81-year-old was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital for advanced treatment on February 1 while his wife Hasna Moudud, daughter of famous poet Jasimuddin, was accompanying him there.

The BNP leader was hospitalised in Dhaka on December 30 last year after he had fallen ill due to low level of haemoglobin and suffered a mild stroke while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

On January 7, a permanent pacemaker was implanted in his heart.

Moudud Ahmed is one of the founding members of the BNP.

Later, he joined Jatiya Party in 1985 and served as prime minister and vice president in military ruler HM Ershad’s government.

After the fall of Ershad, Moudud returned to BNP in 1996 and was made law minister in Khaleda Zia's government in 2001.