Former advisor to a caretaker government, AMM Showkat Ali died on Feb 23 at the age of 82 while undergoing treatment at United Hospital in Dhaka.
Ali served as the advisor for the ministries of health and family welfare, food, and disaster management between 2007 and 2009.
He retired from his civil service career as the agriculture secretary in 2001, later transitioning into roles as a researcher and consultant.
A prolific writer, he regularly penned columns on agriculture, food security, poverty alleviation, governance, and human rights.
Abdullah Al Noman, the BNP vice-chairman, former minister and freedom fighter died on Feb 25. He was 80.
He entered politics in the early 1960s after joining the Student Union during protests against the Hamidur Rahman Education Commission.
Noman held several positions in the Rashed Khan Menon-led faction of the Student Union, including Chattogram city general secretary, greater Chattogram president and central organising secretary.
After his student years, he joined labour politics under Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, serving as vice-president of the East Pakistan Workers Federation.
He was also secretly involved with the Bhashani-led NAP, becoming its central organising secretary in 1970.
In 1971, he actively participated in the Liberation War. After independence, he continued with NAP politics before joining the BNP in 1981.
Noman was elected MP from Chattogram-9 in 1991 and 2001.
During Khaleda Zia’s governments, he served as minister for fisheries and livestock, labour and employment, environment and forests, and food.
