PM’s Military Secretary Zainul Abedin dies at 59

The prime minister’s Military Secretary Major General Mia Mohammad Zainul Abedin has died during treatment in Singapore. He was 59.

Zainul passed away at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital around 5pm on Tuesday, according to the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate.

The decorated army officer, who was adorned with the Bir Bikram title for his valiant role, had been undergoing treatment for long.

Having been commissioned in the army in 1980, he had been working as the military secretary to Hasina since November, 2011.  

He had also worked as the Director General of the Special Security Force, the premier national body which provides security to the president and the prime minister.

Prime Minister Hasina expressed profound sadness at the demise of Zainul, her office said.

His body will be brought back home on Wednesday, said Biplab Barua, special assistant to the prime minister.

He has left behind his wife and two daughters.

Born at Chunti village in Chattogram’s Lohagara on Jan 1, 1960, Zainul joined the army after competing higher secondary education at Faujdarhat Cadet College.

The army officer, who worked at the UN peacekeeping mission, was given the charge of the SSF in 2009.