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Published : 10 Mar 2024, 08:10 PM
Ihsanul Karim, the long-time press secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has died in hospital care in Dhaka after a long battle with illness.
He breathed his last at 8:10pm on Sunday at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital, according to his family.
The family said funeral prayers will be held at the National Press Club at 11am on Monday.
The freedom fighter will also be given a guard of honour there.
He will be buried at Banani Graveyard following another Namaz-e-Janaza there after Zuhr prayers.
The Prime Minister’s Office said another Namaz-e-Janaza would be held at Elenbari Jame Mosque at 8am.
Hasina sent her condolences to the bereaving family in a message and prayed for the departed soul.
She noted he had worked as her press secretary with honesty, skills, and sincerity.
“The mass media of Bangladesh has lost a cherished colleague, and I have lost a trusted official.”
President Mohammed Shahabudin extended his sympathy to Ihsanul’s family in another message. “Bangladesh has lost an experienced journalist, media personality and skilled official. Ihsanul Karim’s contribution to Bangladesh’s journalism will never be forgotten.”
BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Sharfuddin Ahmed told bdnews24.com Ihsanul had been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital with heart disease and other complications for around a month.
He was admitted to BSMMU’s Intensive Care Unit around 10 days ago.
“We tried to give him treatment when his condition deteriorated around 7:30pm. He was declared dead after 8pm. He had heart disease along with breathing problems and diabetes,” Sharfuddin said.
Ihsanul, a distinguished journalist with a career spanning over 40 years, was born on Jan 5, 1951, in Kushtia.
He graduated from Dhaka University and did his post graduation at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).
Ihsanul joined the Liberation War in 1971 and fought in the western frontier as a member of the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF).
He started his career as a staff correspondent of the government-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha or BSS in 1972. He worked as the bureau chief of BSS in New Delhi for five years from 1997.
He also worked as the Bangladesh correspondent of several international media, including the BBC, and the Press Trust of India. Nicknamed Helal, he was known to his colleagues as “Helal Bhai”.
He was appointed the prime minister’s press secretary in 2015 for a year. His contract was extended by three years in 2016 and a further three years in 2019.
Before joining the Prime Minister’s Office, Ihsanul worked as the president’s press secretary, and managing director and chief editor of BSS.
He is survived by his wife Shireen Karim, a son and a daughter.
