Ex-envoy M N Chowdhury passes away

Dhaka, Aug 18 (bdnews24.com) – Former ambassador M N Chowdhury passed away on Thursday afternoon at his residence in the city. He was 87. Chowdhury, father-in-law of the foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, had been suffering from prolonged illness, said a statement from the foreign ministry's external wing. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and one son. He will be buried on August 22 at his village home in Bagha under Pabna district. A 49th-batch Pakistan Foreign Service (PFS) officer and retired secretary to the government, Chowdhury was the first Bangladesh ambassador to Nepal and the founding principal of Foreign Service Training Institute (FSTI), presently Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy. He also worked in Washington DC, New York, Lagos, Cairo, Riyadh and Sittwe. Chowdhury also served as a teacher in the departments of Political Science and International Relations of Dhaka University. He was a chancellor's gold medallist of the university. The first namaj-e-janaja for him will be held on Friday after Juma prayer at CMH Mosque. His body will be brought to the ministry of foreign affairs on Sunday morning, the statement added. bdnews24.com/nih/ssr/2330h