Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former principal secretary to Khaleda Zia, dies

Funeral prayers are to be held at the Gulshan Azad Mosque after Asr prayers, after which he will be laid to rest at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard

Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former principal secretary to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has died.

He passed away at his residence in Dhaka’s Gulshan early on Monday morning, the government said in a statement.

The funeral prayers will be held at Gulshan Azad Mosque after Asr prayers, the statement said.

Kamal will then be laid to rest at the Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard.

Born in 1954, Kamal joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1968 and served as the prime minister's principal secretary the last time the BNP was in power.

Later, he was accused alongside BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a graft case during the state of emergency in 2007.

The case was filed on charges of corruption and financial losses to the state through the signing of an “opaque” contract with Canadian company Niko.

After the political changeover last year, the court acquitted all eight accused in the case, including Khaleda and Kamal, this year.