MP Abdul Jalil critical

Former Awami League General Secretary and Member of Parliament Abdul Jalil is critically ill and undergoing treatment at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

Jalil was taken there for heart treatment on Feb 26, MP Mohammad Israfil Alam told bdnews24.com over phone from Singapore.

“He has been suffering from various ailments, including high blood pressure and diabetes,” he said.

Israfil said doctors at the hospital had placed him under a 30-hour watch.

Merchantile Bank Chairman Abdul Jalil had earlier undergone three bypass surgeries.

He was made the Awami League General Secretary at the party’s 19th council in Dec 2002. He also served the last Awami League government as the Commerce Minister under the technocrat quota.

Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil speaks at a press conference at his residence in Gulshan in Dhaka on Tuesday, where he announced resignation from the post Photo: Firoz Ahmed/bdnews24.com/ Dhaka, July 21, 2009

The leader drew flak for his comments on Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina during the last army-backed caretaker regime. He was thrown behind bars then.

After his release, he was not reinstated as the General Secretary of the party.

Jalil is an MP from Naogaon-5.