Shakirul Islam Khan, Sayed Abdullah named special assistants to prime minister

The duo will serve relinquishing any other profession

Md Shakirul Islam Khan and Md Sayed bin Abdullah have been appointed as special assistants to the prime minister.

The Ministry of Public Administration announced their appointments on Thursday.

Shakirul will be responsible for overseas employment in the Asia Pacific region, with Sayed tasked with youth employment.

Both will take up the position on a contractual basis, subject to relinquishing any other professional, business, or institutional affiliations. They will perform their duties from the date of joining until the prime minister's term or subject to his satisfaction (whichever occurs earlier).

A former student and ex-faculty member of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Shakirul is currently serving as a full faculty member in the Department of Microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine of Oita University in Japan.

He also served in various international organisations, including Ehime University in Japan, and conducted research to improve treatment for dengue, bird flu, hepatitis, COVID-19, rabies, and Nipah virus.

Sayed, who has spoken out on social media on various issues since the time of the Awami League government, is a law graduate from Dhaka University.

Sayed was seen in attendance during a cabinet meeting on the Farmers Card after the formation of the BNP government. The sighting drew criticism on social media for his lack of an official post.