Former minister Mosharraf Hossain passes away

Published : Wednesday, 13 May, 2026 at 2:04 PM Count : 9

Former minister and veteran freedom fighter Engineer Mosharraf Hossain died on Wednesday morning at a private hospital in Dhaka. He was 83.

He was declared dead around 10:00am, his eldest son Sayedur Rahman Sumu told the media.

Mosharraf, a presidium member of Awami League, had been suffering from multiple age-related complications.

He was admitted to Square Hospital in Dhaka about a month ago where he was treated for pneumonia and other complications.

He is survived by his wife, and four children.

Family sources said that his namaj-e-janaza will be held after Asr prayers on Thursday at Mohajonhat Fazlur Rahman School and College ground in Mirsarai upazila of Chattogram.

A janaza is also planned in Dhaka but the venue and time are yet to be finalised.

Engineer Mosharraf Hossain was a six-time member of parliament from Chattogram-1 (Mirsarai) and served in several key ministerial roles including as minister for housing and public works.

He was born on January 12, 1943, at village Dhum of Mirsarai upazila in Chattogram. He completed his secondary education at Chittagong Collegiate School and higher secondary education at Sir Ashutosh Government College.

He later earned a BSc in Mining Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore in 1966.

During his student life, he was involved in the Six-Point Movement and served as president of the East Pakistan Students’ Union. After returning home, he joined Awami League under the leadership of MA Aziz.

He was elected a member of the then East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1970. After independence, he was elected member of parliament in 1973, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2014 and 2018.

During the Liberation War in 1971, he served as sub-sector commander of Sector 1 and took part in several operations including the demolition of the Shuvopur Bridge to resist advancing Pakistani forces.

After independence, he was one of the framers of Bangladesh’s Constitution in 1972.

In 1986, he served as the opposition whip in Parliament and after the Awami League formed the government in 1996, he held the posts of civil aviation and tourism minister and housing and public works minister. In 2015, he again assumed the responsibility housing and public works minister.

In October last year, he was arrested by the interim government led by Professor Yunus after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024. He was later shifted from the prison hospital to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital.

Following his deteriorating condition, his wife Ayesha Sultana made several written appeals to the chief adviser of the interim government seeking his bail and better medical treatment.

He was granted bail while in intensive care, after which his health condition further worsened.

FP/A