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Published : 20 Dec 2024, 07:59 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has expressed deep sorrow over the death of AF Hassan Ariff, the civil aviation and tourism advisor to the interim government.
In a condolence message issued from his office on Friday, the interim prime minister honoured Ariff's decades-long dedication to public service.
"He will be remembered as a brilliant lawyer and for his legal activism and defending human rights of dissidents, dissenting voices, and the marginalised people of our society,” he said.
The statement added that Yunus had learned of Ariff's passing shortly after his flight from Dubai landed in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.
He then rushed to Labaid Hospital in Dhanmondi to pay his final respects.
“I am deeply shocked at his sudden demise. Advisor Hassan Ariff was a top lawyer who played a very significant role in the interim government,” the chief advisor said in his message.
Ariff, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, passed away at the age of 83 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The former attorney general was declared dead at 3:35pm after being brought to the hospital, his son Moaz Ariff confirmed.
Yunus extended his condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the peace of the departed soul.
Ariff was born in Kolkata in 1941. He completed his secondary and higher secondary education at Kolkata's St Xavier’s College.
He then graduated with a bachelor’s degree and an LLB from the University of Calcutta.
In 1967, after enrolling as a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court, he moved to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
In 1970, he became a registered lawyer at the Dhaka High Court.
Ariff held several key legal positions throughout his career.
Under military strongman HM Ershad, he served as assistant attorney general from Apr 1982 to Aug 1985 and as deputy attorney general from Aug 1985 to Mar 1996.
Ariff later served as attorney general during the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government, from Oct 2001 to Apr 2005.
From Jan 2008 to Jan 2009, he acted as law advisor to the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed.
He was also a panel member of the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre.
Ariff defended Yunus in several cases. He was a senior Supreme Court lawyer and the head of the “AF Hassan Ariff and Associates” chamber.
